A Quest for Home
by The Avid Musician
Summary: Sold by her mother and step-father into slavery, the last thing Sarali expected was to be freed along with Anakin. Even with that shock, more surprises were on the way. OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"_Sarali! Go home! You're slowing everything down! You better be faster again tomorrow, or I'll sell you to Jabba for his harem!"_ Watto yelled to a short figure in worn, grey-brown clothes.

This woman nodded and quickly walked to the door of the hut, sweeping a thin, sun-shield cloak onto her shoulders. She quickly clipped the separate sides of the simple clasp together before pulling the hood up to cover her face from the harsh light of the two suns.

Before she could reach the door, a man walked in closely followed by a girl in her mid teens, an alien with floppy ears and amphibian features, and a short, blue and silver droid. The man had long, greying, reddish-brown hair that was partially tied back behind his head and a beard of the same colour. He wore greyish brown clothes and a travel cloak that blended in with everyone else on Tatooine. The girl had long brown hair braided up out of the way. Her clothes were just as ordinary as the man's. The creature walked awkwardly and clumsily. His webbed hands and feet showed quite obviously that he was amphibian by nature. The droid was an altogether ordinary sight for this filthy planet.

However, Sarali could not keep herself from staring at the man leading the way. Something was different about him. He walked with an unconscious grace, like a fighter that fought with more than just a blaster. His gaze was clear, direct, calm, and focused. He was dangerous.

As she looked at him, he turned to make eye contact with her. His gaze showed surprise before his rather apparent training took over and he calmed himself again.

Literally the second the doorway was clear, Sarali broke the man's gaze and walked out into the streets. From there, she hurried home for a good nap.

ooooooooooooo

Over an hour later, a young boy's shouting woke Sarali from her nap. She sighed and lay still for a second, listening intently.

"Mom! I'm home!" Anakin called from the entry.

A strange voice that spoke rough Basic said, "Oh, this'en cosy."

"These are my friends, Mom," Anakin said. _What have you done this time, Ani?_

"Hello!" the same, strangle voice said.

Sarali's eyes narrowed. She pushed herself up onto one hand and both knees to stretch her back before jumping up to her feet. Calmly, she strode out of the room and into the entryway. As she walked in, she asked, "Who's here?"

The non-human stopped short when she saw the people in the room. "You're the man from the shop," she said bluntly, looking him over carefully.

He in turn examined her fully. Feline ears covered in black, medium-long fur were surrounded by auburn hair twisted into a tight bun. Her face was lightly tanned, far less so than would be expected in this climate. Yellow cat eyes shone out from a face that was vaguely feline and very angular, but altogether very pretty if not beautiful.

Her thin, muscular body was wrapped in a shabby bodysuit, grey from wear. Over that, she wore a tunic that went down to mid-calf. A three inch wide belt held the tunic in place. Her small feet were booted, though the boots were quite shabby and worn. Her whole presence spoke of strength and confidence. Judging from her somewhat feline appearance, she was likely incredibly flexible. Something seemed off with her hands. As he looked closer, it became obvious: she didn't have fingernails. Instead, he could clearly see the now-sheathed claws at the tips of her fingers. His gaze travelled up slightly, but once again stopped abruptly. Her left sleeve was rolled up and bound there. That wrist was swollen and mottled blue and green: badly sprained. Completing her feline appearance, a slightly fluffy, black tail swished behind her, long enough to touch the ground and still curl up again.

"Yes. I am Qui-Gon Jinn. These are Padme Naberrie and Jar Jar Binks," the man, Qui-Gon, said, gesturing in turn to himself, the girl, and the alien. "Anakin was kind enough to offer us shelter," he explained.

"What is your business here?" Sarali asked, looking them over suspiciously. Her voice had a sharp edge to it, as dangerous as it was growling.

"It's okay, Sarali. They couldn't get to their ship fast enough before the sandstorm."

"Sand storm?" she interrupted. Her ear flicked forward, listening for a second. "Ah, yes. Now, why couldn't they reach their ship?"

"It's on the outskirts," the girl, Padme, said.

Sarali tipped her head slightly to the side. Her nose quivered slightly as she smelled the air around them. Apparently satisfied with her observations, she smiled, revealing glistening white, sharp-looking teeth. Her canines were elongated like fangs. "Welcome," she said, "I am Sarali Linat." The growl in her voice was gone, replaced by a noncommittal welcome. "What is the droid's number?" she asked, her eyes calm if curious.

"R2-D2," Qui-Gon said, not understanding why she would want to know.

Sarali smiled her feline smile and walked over to kneel beside the droid. "Hello, R2," she said, patting the droid's metal top.

The blue and silver droid whistled happily. The feline woman smiled and said to Shmi, "I'll start dinner, Shmi. I bought some fruit."

"Did Watto-" she began to ask.

"No. I've been saving up," Sarali said, shaking her head.

"Let me help you," Qui-Gon said. _He saw my wrist._

She nodded to him and said, "Thank you." Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

Once they were alone in the kitchen, Qui-Gon said, "Shmi isn't your mother."

Sarali doubled over with laughter, hardly able to breathe for her convulsive laughter. When she could breathe again, she turned to the man and said, "What was your first clue: the ears, the tail, the eyes, or the teeth?"

"Why-" Qui-Gon began to say.

However, Sarali interrupted him by snapping, "Now is not the time to delve into my family history."

The Jedi stayed silent after that. Clearly, she did not want to speak to him right now. She seemed irritable about something, and it didn't seem to be their presence in her home. It seemed to be something entirely different.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"All slaves have a transmitter placed inside their body somewhere," Shmi said, pouring a drink for everyone.

"I've been working on a scanner to try and locate mine," Anakin said.

"Any attempt to escape," Shmi began.

"And they blow you up. Boom!" Anakin finished, slapping his hand on the table.

"How wude," Jar Jar commented.

"I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws-" Padme said.

"The Republic doesn't exist out here. We must survive on our own," Shmi said to her.

Suddenly, Jar Jar shot his very long tongue out and swallowed one of the fruits from the communal bowl. "'Scuse me," he said, smiling awkwardly.

Sarali turned to look at Padme and said, "Even if it did, that would not stop the Hutts. It certainly hasn't stopped them on Coruscant."

That comment certainly left an awkward silence in its wake. Anakin spoke up first by asking, "Has anyone ever seen a podrace?"

"They have podracing on Malastair. Very fast, very dangerous," Qui-Gon said before biting into a bit more of his food.

"I'm the only human who can do it," he said confidently.

"You must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods," Qui-Gon commented.

Just as suddenly, Jar Jar's tongue lashed out again to take a fruit. However, Qui-Gon grabbed it on its way back to the mouth and said calmly, "Don't do that again."

"You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?" Anakin said, looking pointedly at Qui-Gon.

"What makes you think that?" Qui-Gon asked. He appeared calm, but the Jedi were legendary for that very same calm.

"I saw your laser sword. Only Jedis carry that kind of weapon," Anakin said.

"Maybe I killed a Jedi and took it from him," Qui-Gon suggested.

"I don't think so. No one can kill a Jedi," Anakin said.

"Don't be ridiculous, Anakin. They are as much flesh and blood as you and I. They can be killed, though I'll not disagree on the point that he is a Jedi," Sarali put in.

"And what proof do you have?" Qui-Gon asked her, turning his gaze to her.

"I can sense it," she said simply.

"I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all the slaves. Have you come to free us?" Anakin said, jumping back into the conversation.

"No. I'm afraid not," Qui-Gon said, his voice laden with regret.

"I think you have. Why else would you be here?" Anakin said confidently.

"I can see there's no fooling you, Ani, nor you, Sarali. We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic, on a very important mission," he said, looking between the two of them.

"How did you end up on the Outer Rim?" Sarali asked, her voice seemingly calm.

"Our ship was damaged and we're stranded here until we can repair it," Padme said gravely.

"I can help. I can fix _anything_," Anakin said confidently.

"I believe you can," Qui-Gon said as Shmi and Sarali exchanged amused glances. "But first we must acquire the parts we need."

"No not in mula to trade," Jar Jar said, looing down at the boy.

"These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind," Padme said.

"They have two, but only one will serve you with Watto: gambling," Sarali said knowledgeably.

"Everything around here revolves around betting on those awful races," Shmi finished, explaining the specifics.

"Podraces. Greed can be a powerful ally," Qui-Gon said.

"Only if you know you'll win," Sarali said darkly.

"I built a racer. It's the faster ever. There's a big race tomorrow on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod," Anakin said.

"Anakin," Shmi said exasperatedly. "Watto won't let you."

"Watto doesn't know I built it. You could get him to think it's yours, and get him to let me pilot it for you," Anakin said, coming up with a plan.

"I don't want you to race. It's awful. I die every time Watto makes you do it," Shmi said seriously.

"But, Mom, I love it," Anakin insisted. "The prize money would more than pay for the parts I need."

"Anakin," Shmi said in the same tone.

"You're mother's right," Qui-Gon said. "Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who can help us?"

Shmi glanced at Sarali before saying, "No."

"Mom, you say the biggest problem in this universe is no one helps each other," Anakin said, trying to convince her.

"I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger," Padme assured her. "We'll find some other way."

"There is no other way. I may not like it, but he can help you. He was meant to help you," Shmi said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Later that day, Anakin was putting the final touches on his pod with Threepio's, Padme's, and Sarali's help. Qui-Gon stood by the house, watching them from a distance.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Shmi. They smiled at each other as she walked over to stand beside him. "You should be very proud of your son," he said. "He gives without any thought of reward."

"Anakin knows nothing of greed. He has a..." she said.

"He has special powers," Qui-Gon finished for her.

Shmi looked up at him for a second before nodding and saying, "Yes."

"He can see things before they happen. That's why he appears to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi trait," Qui-Gon explained.

"He deserves better than a slave's life," she said regretfully.

"Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong with him. That much is clear. Who was his father?" Qui-Gon said.

"There was no father. I carried him. I gave birth. I raised him. I can't explain what happened," she admitted.

Qui-Gon was silent for several seconds. In this silence, Shmi asked, "Can you help him?"

"I don't know," he said bluntly. "I didn't actually come here to free slaves."

After several more seconds of silence, Shmi said, "I'm sorry for Sarali. She's been very stressed recently. Watto has threatened to sell her to Jabba the Hutt for his harem. Normally, she's a very sweet girl."

"How did she come to be here?" Qui-Gon asked. In this matter, his curiosity was enormous.

"I don't know the whole story. I know that before she was a slave, she lived on Coruscant with her mother and step-father. They were the ones that sold her to the Hutts. Gardulla sold her to Watto about six years ago."

"How old is she?" Qui-Gon asked.

"I don't know," she said bluntly.

Minutes later, Sarali stood beside the others outside the house, waiting to see if the pod worked. She was just as happy as the rest that it ran. As soon as Anakin had shut the pod off, she went inside for yet another nap.

oooooooooooooo

Sarali woke to the sound of Shmi calling for Anakin to go to bed. As usual, he did not go right away. She heard the normal, "I'm not going to tell you again." This was her cue.

Sarali jumpd up and walked out to the balcony where she heard Qui-Gon and him talking. "Come along, Ani," she said, motioning for him to follow.

"Go on. You have a big day tomorrow. Sleep well, Ani," Qui-Gon said as the boy walked into the house behind her.

Sarali turned around as soon as Anakin was in his room. She could hear Qui-Gon talking, presumably into a comlink, from here.

"Obi-Wan," he said.

"Yes, Master," a voice said from the comlink. The voice was a young man with obvious respect for Qui-Gon.

"I need an analysis of the blood sample I'm sending you," he said.

"Wait a minute," the man, Obi-Wan, said.

"I need a midichlorian count," Qui-Gon said.

"The reading's off the chart, over 20,000. Even Master Yoda hasn't got a midichlorian count that high," Obi-Wan said.

"No Jedi has," Qui-Gon said quietly.

"What does that mean?" Ob-Wan asked.

"I'm not sure," Qui-Gon said, turning to look at the house. Shmi had been standing there. She met his eyes for a second before walking away.

Qui-Gon closed the comlink and placed it back on his utility belt. Quite suddenly, he saw something soar over his head. Immediately, he drew his lightsaber, ready to attack. Instead of an attacker, Sarali landed on the ledge beside him. She then sat, dangling her legs over the edge and her tail on the other side.

"Would you like to test my blood for 'infections', as well?" Sarali asked.

Qui-Gon looked over at her and said, "Actually, if you would allow me to, I would like to."

Sarali smiled, though there was no emotion in it. She held out her left arm for him. At the same time, she brought her right index finger down on the inside of her arm and unsheathed a long claw. She carefully cut a small whole in her arm. It bled only a single drop of blood. "Will that be enough?" she asked, her voice perfectly controlled.

Qui-Gon nodded and scrapped the chip over the blood before inserting it into the comlink. "Obi-Wan," he said into it.

"Yes, Master," the same man, Obi-Wan said. His tone showed his confusion. Qui-Gon had, after all, _just_ called him.

"I need another midichlorian count," he said.

"Alright...Just a second...It's almost as high as the last one! It's at 19 and a half thousand!"

"Thank you, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said. Without another word, he closed the comlink and put it away once more.

"What are midichlorians, Jedi?" Sarali asked.

"The life forms in our blood that connect us to the force," Qui-Gon said.

Qui-Gon turned to look at her and said, "_Quid pro quo._ What is your homeworld?"

The feline woman turned to him and said in a flat voice, "Coruscant."

"What does his high midichlorian count, and mine, mean?" she asked.

"It means that both of you could become very powerful Jedi," he said. "How old are you?"

"22," she said bluntly. "Isn't Anakin too old to become a Jedi?" Sarali asked.

"Normally, yes. He shows great promise as a Jedi, though. How did you come to be here?" QuiGon asked.

"My foster parents sold me to Gardulla the Hutt to settle a debt. She sold me to Watto for a little extra money," she said bluntly. "Why do you think Anakin is so important?"

"He is the Chosen One, the one who will bring balance to the Force," Qui-Gon said. He then turned to her and asked, "Who were your parents?"

Sarali's eyes hardened, but she showed no other signs that she was upset. "My mother was a crime sindicate prostitute, a particularly popular when because she was a Cathar. I never knew my real father, but my step-father was a petty thief who worked for the same boss as my mother," she said.

She did not say more. Instead, she let herself drop off the ledge to the ground more than ten feet below. On instinct, Qui-Gon reached out with the Force and slowed her fall. The second her feet touched the ground, she jumped up again. She soared over the ledge and landed back on the upper level, perfectly balanced on her feet.

"Good night, Qui-Gon," she said, holding up her hand as she walked inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The next day, Qui-Gon and Jar Jar went to the pit hangar before the Skywalker family. Watto spotted the tall Jedi immediately and flew over him to say with confidence, "I wanna see your space ship the moment the race is over."

"Patience, my blue friend," Qui-Gon said. "You'll have your winnings before the suns set, and we'll be far away from here."

"Not if your ship belongs to me, I think. I warn you, no funny business," Watto said, laughing.

"You don't think Anakin can win?"

"Don't be getting me wrong. I have great faith in the boy. He is a credit to your race. But, uh... Sebulba, I think, is going to win," Watto said happily.

"Oh no," Jar Jar exclaimed.

"Why do you think that?" Qui-Gon asked as they looked over to Sebulba. He sat on a specially made chair with two blue-skinned Twi-leks massaging him. He looked confident.

"He always wins! I'm betting everything on Sebulba!" Watto exclaimed, smiling widely.

"I'll take that bet," Qui-Gon said confidently.

"You'll what?" Watto asked. He thought he had heard wrong.

"I wager my new racing pod against say...the boy, his mother, and the girl."

"No pod is worth three slaves, not by a long shot," Watto insisted immediately. He wasn't even lying.

"Fine then, just the boy and the girl," Qui-Gon said.

"Oh, but she could make me so much money..." Watto muttered. Qui-Gon flinched, knowing exactly what he was referring to. A moment later, he took out a red and blue cube and said, "We'll let fate decide. I just so happen to have a chance cube here. Blue: the boy and girl. Red: his mother."

Qui-Gon nodded less than a second later. Watto threw the cube to the ground and watched it carefully as it rolled. The Jedi inconspicuously gestured with his hand, using the Force to direct the cube to land on blue.

"So it's the boy and the girl, then," Qui-Gon said.

Watto, if he could, would have turned red and exploded from his anger. "You won this small toss, Outlander, but you won't win the race, so it makes little difference!" Watto yelled as he flew away. _The cube must have been loaded._

Seconds later, the rest of them arrived. As Watto flew by them, he said menacingly to Anakin, "_You had better stop your friend's betting before I end up owning him, too."_

"What did he mean by that?" Anakin asked. _There was a meaning to his words. Perhaps he had bet the pod against something?_

"I'll tell you later," Qui-Gon said dismissively, picking Anakin up to set him on the ground rather than the pack animal.

Anakin raced over to the pod with Padme and Kitster following closely. Sarali leapt down from her place and landed silently beside the Jedi. Her cloak fluttered behind her and the hood fell down to her back. "What did you do?" she hissed, her voice threatening and low.

Qui-Gon looked at her with a blank face for a second before he said quietly, "I betted the pod against Anakin's and your freedom."

He expected her to yell, or at least exclaim something. However, she did none of these things. Her eyes widened immensely, but she did not make a sound. Seconds later, she turned away from him and walked over to the animals. She took them away while Qui-Gon just stared at her for several seconds. _What a remarkable young woman._

The rest of the time before the race, Sarali was completely silent. _She certainly is stoic_, Qui-Gon thought.

The pods were hauled into position as the two headed announcer introduced the contestants and their pods. During that whole procedure, Sarali double-checked the engines, making sure they were in racing condition.

Soon enough, the flag of each contestant was brought out in a long line. Threepio held Anakin's flag while creatures of all types held those of the other contestants.

In the midst of all this excitement, Shmi bent down in front of her son and said, "Be safe."

"I will, Mom. I promise," he said, meaning every word.

For a few moments, Shmi just smiled at him before she stood once more and walked over to the repulsorlift.

Seconds later, Sarali walked over to him and said, "Be careful out there, Ani. You and I both know of Sebulba's tricks." She smiled, though she was perfectly serious. Only her white teeth and her eyes glimmered out from beneath her hood.

"You know me, Sarali. I'm always careful," he said in return, smiling also.

Sarali patted him on the head before turning and walked away to the repulsorlift. As she stepped in, there was no expression on her face. Then again, that was to be expected as she certainly hadn't shown much emotion earlier.

From a distance, Sarali could see Qui-Gon lift Anakin into the pod before the announcer said that Jabba was in the arena. Hearing this, she tensed. Her hands gripped the edge tightly, and her long, white, sharp claws unsheathed. The Hutt slithered his way out onto his private balcony and said loudly in Huttese, "_Welcome. Begin the Race!"_

With that statement, the pod engines started. Pour couplings burst to life between the twin engines of most of the pods. A few were not built that way, so there was no energy beam between engines.

At this time, Qui-Gon and Jar Jar got into the repulsorlift as well. Seeing him, Shmi asked, "Is he nervous?"

"He's fine," the Jedi said, apparently calm.

"You Jedi are far too reckless," Padme said, turning to look at him. _Who do you think you are, a Queen?_ Sarali thought. "The Queen is not-"

"The Queen trusts my judgment, young handmaiden. You should, too," Qui-Gon said, bending over to look her in the eyes. _So there is a Queen. Methinks, she dost think too much of herself._

"You assume too much," Padme said, following him over to the side of the repulsorlift facing the pods. As they did this, the platform rose, giving them a full view of the stadium.

"Start your engines!" the announcer said. With that, the sound of the engines beginning to rotate was heard. Sarali looked over to Anakin's pod. His seemed to be running just fine.

"Uh, this is gonna be messy. Me no watchin'," Jar Jar said nervously, covering his eye stalks with his hands.

Sarali turned to look at Jabba, as loth as she was to do that. Moments later, he bit off the head of a small creature and spit it at a gong, signalling the beginning of the race. The pods surged forward, crossing the starting line and beginning to run the track.

Two pods were left. Neither of them had worked properly. Sarali looked at one and instantly recognized Anakin's pod. _Oh, no._

"Wait. Little Skywalker is stalled," the announcer said loudly. As the crowd jeered, the announcer continued, "But it looks like Quadrinaro's having engine trouble also."

"Come on, Ani," Jar Jar said in his higher than normal pitched voice.

Seconds later, Anakin's pod raced across the starting line and out onto the track. "Go, Ani! Go!" Jar Jar cheered.

"He will be hard pressed to catch up with the leaders," the announcer said.

Everyone on the repulsorlift watched the viewing screen Shmi held carefully. It showed Anakin's pod racing through the track. It was clear that he was trying his absolute hardest to catch up.

"Looks like a couple of Tuskan Raiders are camped out on the Canyon Dune turn!" the announcer said. That much was quite obvious for them as they saw bullets glance off the metal shell of Anakin's pod.

Seconds later, there was a large bang and Quadrinaro's two engines went flying off in separate directions around the stadium. "Oo! There goes Quadrinaro's power couplings!" the announcer said.

Moments after that, the leaders rushed through the arena, completing the first lap. As they did this, the announcer said in Huttese, "_And in the lead: Sebulba!"_

Seconds went by and there was no sign of Anakin. Sarali stayed completely calm. After all, he had started later than the others. "Look! Here he comes!" Padme said, looking over the edge to see his pod streak through the arena with a significantly closer gap than before.

Sure enough, the announcer said, "Looks like Skywalker's moving up the field."

Sarali and the rest quickly looked back down at the view screen. Anakin was passing the stragglers now. Even as he did that, one of the wires connecting his pod to the engines unhooked, leaving the pod dangling behind the other engine. The pod span over itself many times without hitting the ground. Somehow, he managed to get the pod to stop spinning. Despite that, he was still flying with one engine unhooked. Through the screen, they watched him reach out his arm while holding a tool. He grabbed the wire using that and hook it back onto the pod. From there, he only flew onward, passing still more pods in the process.

A bit later, Jar Jar yelled excitedly, "Here he comes!"

Not two seconds later, two pods streaked through the stadium, beginning the last lap. One was Anakin's. The announcers said excitedly, "At the start of the third and final lap, Sebulba's in the lead, followed closely by Skywalker!"

As the two pods continued their race, Anakin pulled his pod to be side by side with Sebulba's. The dug wouldn't let him get any farther forward than that. The two of them rushed onward like that before Sebulba began to crash his pod into Anakin's. That forced Anakin's pod off the track onto the service ramp. He flew up into the air and steered his pod back toward the track. He swooped in onto the course _in front of Sebulba_.

The two pods continued to race forward before one of Anakin's engines began to drag on the ground and smoke. This slowed him down to the point that Sebulba was able to rush forward and take the lead once more.

Several seconds later, Anakin's engine lifted up to be parallel to the other engine. He gunned forward, racing after Sebulba at top speed. Again, he came up to beside Sebulba and once again Sebulba tried to crash his pod into Anakin's. However, in doing that the two pods were hooked together. They both tried to pulled their pods apart, but Sebulba broke his power coupling in doing so. He spun out of control and crashed while Anakin raced forward over the finish line. He had won.

The crowd went wild, cheering and whooping at an enormous volume, but Sarali heard none of it. Her hands grasped the railing tightly. Her tail swished back and forth. Her ears were perked up to their fullest extent underneath the hood. Her face showed one emotion, and only one: shock.

The repulsorlift dropped back to the ground, allowing them to exit. Jar Jar, Padme, and Shmi all hurried over to Anakin. Qui-Gon began to follow, but as he walked around Sarali, he noticed that she hadn't moved at all. He put a hand gently on her shoulder. She whipped around, her eyes wide, though no longer with shock. She gasped twice before throwing her arms around him and saying fervently, "Thank you!"

A moment later, she let go of him and ran remarkably quickly over to Anakin. Qui-Gon followed a tad slower and lifted him from the pod to place him on his shoulders.

Anakin raised his arms over his head and began to yell in joy. The crowd paraded him around the stadium, cheering the whole while. In that time, Sarali helped Artoo bring the pod into the hangar.

Fifteen minutes later, Anakin raced into the hangar followed by Padme, Jar Jar, Qui-Gon, and Shmi. Once beside the pod, Jar Jar picked him up and said happily, "Good goin', Ani!"

When he set the boy down, Padme immediately came over. She knelt down and hugged Anakin before saying, "We owe you everything, Ani."

He was then passed along to his mother, who kissed his cheek and hugged him. "It's so wonderful, Ani! You have brought hope to those who have none! I'm so very proud of you." She kissed his cheek again before passing him off to Sarali.

Sarali squatted down and gave him one of her rare hugs. Anakin pushed her hood down to rub behind her ear for a second. That was his way of thanking her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

As people collected bets and filed away from the stadium, Qui-Gon went up into the stands to collect on his own bet. He walked over to Watto, who turned and pointed a finger accusingly at him. "You! You swindled me! You knew the boy was going to win! Somehow you knew it! I lost everything." He said angrily.

"You made a gamble, my friend, that you were going to lose. Bring the parts to the main hangar. I'll come by your shop later on so you can release the boy and girl," Qui-Gon said, turning to look out at the stadium.

"You can't have them! It wasn't a fair bet," Watto said, flying over to him.

Qui-Gon turned to look at the Toydarian and said, "Would you like to discuss it with the Hutts? I'm sure they could settle this."

Watto looked down in defeat. He looked up only to say, "Take them."

Qui-Gon merely nodded and walked away.

oooooooooooooooo

Anakin and Qui-Gon walked back from the stadium together. Sarali had apparently already left. As soon as they had arrived, Anakin ran into the house and said happily, "Mom! Sarali! We sold the pod! Look at all the money we have!"

"My goodness, Ani! That's so wonderful!" Shmi exclaimed, looking down at it.

Sarali came running to him a second later. She looked at the money before saying happily, "That's terrific!"

"And he and Sarali have been freed," Qui-Gon said.

"What?" Anakin exclaimed.

"You are no longer a slave," he said, looking between the two.

"Did you hear that?" Anakin asked, turning around to look between Shmi and Sarali.

"Now, you can make your dreams come true, Ani," Shmi said, smiling at him. "You're free." She then looked up at Qui-Gon and asked, "Will you take them with you? Is he to become a Jedi?"

"Yes. Our meeting was not a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident," Qui-Gon said seriously.

"You mean _I_ get to come with _you_ in your _starship_?" Anakin asked excitedly.

"Anakin," Qui-Gon said, kneeling down to look at him, "Training to become a Jedi is not an easy challenge, and even if you succeed it's a hard life."

"But I wanna go! It's what I've always dreamed of doing!" Anakin said excitedly. He turned around and asked, "Can I go, Mom?"

"Anakin, this path has been placed before you. The choice is yours alone," Shmi said seriously.

Anakin looked at her for a few seconds before saying honestly, "I wanna do it."

"Then pack your things. We haven't much time," Qui-Gon said, standing up again. He looked over at Sarali and said, "You can come, too, Sarali, if you wish to."

Sarali looked at him for a second, tears forming in her eyes. She looked to the side and shook her head before looking him straight in the eye and saying seriously, "That is the best thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Thank you." She smiled a genuine smile at him before turning and running to her room.

Seconds later, Anakin turned around and asked, "What about Mom? Is she free too?"

"I tried to free your mother, Ani, but Watto wouldn't have it," Qui-Gon said. A hint of sadness showed through his calm exterior.

"You're coming with us, aren't you, Mom?" Anakin asked, walking over to her.

"Son, my place is here. My future is here. It's time for you to let go," Shmi said to him.

"I don't want things to change," Anakin said.

"You can't stop the change anymore than you can stop the suns from setting," Shmi said seriously to him. She hugged him close for a few seconds before saying, "Now, hurry."

As Anakin left the room, Sarali came back in with a very small pack on her back. It couldn't be holding more than one other pair of clothes and a couple small belongings.

Shmi stood and walked over to hold both of Sarali's hands. She turned back to Qui-Gon and said, "Thank you."

"I'll watch after him, both of you," he said, looking directly at Sarali. "You have my word."

Shmi nodded before looking back over at Sarali. She said quietly, "Remember what I said."

"I will," Sarali said, nodding before releasing the other woman's hands.

Not much later, Anakin returned with a backpack slung on his back. It was larger than Sarali's. He followed Sarali and Qui-Gon right out the door. However, he paused not twenty feet from the house and ran back to Shmi. Sarali and Qui-Gon turned back to look as he and his mother hugged. As he did, Qui-Gon asked Sarali, "What did she tell you?"

Sarali turned to him and said simply, "Never look back, even if there's nothing to look forward to. Seconds later, Anakin came back to them and followed them to the outskirts.

Literally the second they reached the outskirts, Qui-Gon began to run. Sarali hung back for a second to scoop Anakin up and place him on her back. She then took off after him, easily keeping up a few steps behind him.

Soon enough, a large, silver cruiser came into view. However, Qui-Gon turned back to look at something and called urgently, "Sarali, drop!"

Obediently, Sarali threw herself to the ground. Anakin landed on top of her, pushing her torso farther into the sand. This helped because a black speeder flew over their heads straight at Qui-Gon.

The rider jumped off the speeder, igniting a red lightsaber as he did. Qui-Gon ignited his own green lightsaber milliseconds later. As soon as the rider had landed (on his feet), he attacked Qui-Gon.

"Go!" Qui-Gon called seriously. "Tell them to take off!"

By the time Sarali had jumped up, Anakin was already half way to the ship. Instead of following him, she reached into her pack and pulled out a foot long, curved knife. She leapt at the figure, bringing the blade down on his hand. Two lumps fell to the sand along with a shower of blood: fingers.

The figure dressed in black whirled around and kicked her away. Before she could right herself or even turn her fall into a roll, her head hit the sand hard enough for her to black out.

Seconds later, that very same ship was flying low overhead with the hatch open. Seeing this, Qui-Gon turned and ran flat out to Sarali. As he reached her, he scooped her up and jumped up to the ship.

As soon as he was inside, he collapsed on the floor, barely managing to drop her beside him. Even as they did that, the door opened and a man in brown and tan robes hurried into the room followed closely by Anakin. "Are you alright?" Anakin asked, hurrying over to them both. When he saw Sarali, he dropped to his knees by her side.

"I am, but she hit her head. She'll have a concussion," Qui-Gon said, struggling to catch his breath.

"What was it?" the man asked. If she were conscious, Sarali would have instantly recognized the voice.

"I'm not sure," he said, still breathing heavily. "But he was swell-trained in the Jedi arts. My guess is: he was after the Queen."

"What are we gonna do about it?" Anakin asked.

"We shall be patient," Qui-Gon said, coming up with a plan of action. "Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said next, gesturing to them.

"Hi," Anakin said as they shook hands. "You're a Jedi, too? Pleased to meet you."

Qui-Gon laughed for a second before turning to Sarali. "This is Sarali Linat," he said, gesturing to her as well.

Obi-Wan nodded and picked her up easily. She was, after all, quite short and small. He walked to the one-room infirmary, but he hesitated before laying her down. How was he supposed to lay her down, considering her tail? Would it hurt er to lay on her back? Perhaps her side was better. After a few seconds of thought, he set her down gently on her back. Her tail naturally laid out between her legs, though it curled to the side to peek out from underneath her leg and curl over the edge of the bed.

Next, Obi-Wan stood from the chair to check her head. He felt with his fingers along her scalp, going close to the base of her ears. There were no bumps, cuts, or even bruises. Puzzled, he opened one of her eyes. Sure enough, it was dilated. She had a concussion.

Just as he sat back down, Anakin bolted into the room, only stopping once he had reached her bedside. "Is she alright?" he asked, peering at her intently as though searching for any damage.

"She has a concussion," Obi-Wan said. His eyes had not yet left her. He continued to watch as Anakin reached out and gently pulled little clumps of dirt from the fur on her ears. As it fell away, her fur seemed to almost change colours. Before, it had seemed to be a plain brown colour, but the more clean fur was revealed, the more he could see that it was actually a smoky black colour.

Hesitantly, Obi-Wan reached out and touched the tip of her tail. He had no idea how he hadn't noticed the difference in colour of the two, for the tail was quite obviously black. All of the dirt must have been from her fall.

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said from behind them. Both Anakin and the Padawan turned to see the tall Jedi standing in the doorway, observing the scene. "How are her head and wrist?" he asked.

"Her head will be better within a day or two, but what do you mean wrist?" Obi-Wan said.

Qui-Gon frowned and walked over. As he looked over both wrists, he said, "One of her wrists was sprained quite badly...It must have healed." From that, Obi-Wan knew she was one of the Force-sensitives that he had heard of.

"Watch over her," Qui-Gon said suddenly, turning to look at his Padawan. "She should wake soon. Anakin, come with me." His voice held a tone of finality that neither would question.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said at the same time that Anakin said, "Yes, sir."

The two of them left the room, leaving Obi-Wan alone with her once more.

For a minute, he simply studied her. She was slender and short. In fact, she would only come up to his chin, if even that. Her ears added nearly three inches to her height. The fur that covered her ears was somehow a different colour than her hair. That fact as well as how her features were only vaguely feline (minus the eyes) made him think that she was half-human. This was only a speculation, though, because he had only seen one other Cathar in the whole of his life. He also remembered how Cathar teeth protruded from the mouth as fangs. Hers did not. In fact, she might not even have fangs for all he knew.

Once again, his attention was drawn to her tail. It looked so soft, fluffy, and yet elegant. Hesitantly, he reached out and stroked the fur. The tip swished to the side. Instantaneously, Obi-Wan withdrew his hand and snapped his eyes toward her face. Her yellow eyes were partially open.

"It's alright. You may touch it if you wish. Just please don't pull it," she said quietly. She sounded half-asleep.

"It's better if I don't," Obi-Wan said dutifully, clasping his hands in his lap.

"No, really. It's fine. In fact, it helped me sleep," Sarali said, smiling at him. Despite her fangs, she still managed to make the smile soft and honest rather than harsh and sardonic.

"No. I should be going," the apprentice said nervously, almost stuttering as he tried to make an excuse to leave. He stood and turned toward the door.

"I was under the impression that you were to stay with me," she said, looking at him pointedly. Her smile had turned more lopsided. It was not quite a smirk, but it was close.

Obi-Wan turned back to look at the humanoid. His muscles tensed slightly, but he suddenly relaxed when he looked at her smile. He walked back over and sat by her side once again. This time, her smile was small, almost only to show her gladness that he was staying.

"I am Sarali Linat. Who, may I ask, are you, other than Qui-Gon's Padawan?" she said, closing her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she studied him closely.

Bright, blue eyes were set in a tanned, handsome face. His features were well-proportioned and noble. Short, brown hair topped his head, and a little braid rested on his right shoulder. His tall, muscular frame was covered by traditional, brown and beige Jedi robes. His stance was balanced and firm, testifying his strength and skill.

"My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said, holding his hand out for her to shake. The second she laid her hand in his, his large hand engulfed hers in a cocoon of warmth. This only accentuated her tininess. They smiled at each other, each face completely open and honest.

"Pleased to meet you, Obi-Wan," she said as her eyes met his. He said nothing in return, and he could not stop staring at her amber, feline eyes. They were strange. That much was sure, but he had already seen many strange things in his life. It should not have been such a great shock.

Finally, Sarali pulled her hand from his and sat up quickly. "You shouldn't be up yet," Obi-Wan said immediately.

"I'm fine," Sarali said confidently. A second later, she stood up and walked to the door.

"Are you sure?" he asked anxiously.

"Believe me, I'm fine. I heal quickly," she said, stepping into the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Obi-Wan asked, standing and hurrying after her.

"To find Anakin," she said, glancing back at him.

"Let me take you," he said, jogging to her side.

Sarali looked at him carefully for a second before saying, "Very well."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Sarali spent the rest of the trip to Coruscant in peace. She kept Anakin company much of the time. He, in turn, spent much of his time with Padme. That is, he talked with her as much as he could when she was not serving the Queen. This meant that she, as well, got to know the handmaiden quite well. They became friends, even to the point that they talked without Anakin around.

Jar Jar, who she had recently learned was a Gungan and a native of the planet Naboo, generally followed Anakin, Sarali, or one of the Jedi around during almost the entire trip. Whenever he chose Sarali, she attempted to be gracious and diplomatic, which to her meant not snapping or being cynical around him.

Most of the crew of the spacecraft was friendly and obliging. If ever she was lost, which was not often for she was almost always with someone else, they would help her. Ric Olie, the pilot, was particularly friendly to both her and Anakin. He even began to teach the boy how to pilot the craft, though the young boy never actually flew it.

One thing that rather surprised her was that Qui-Gon came to see how she and Anakin were doing on the journey. Sarali took that kindness of his in stride and attempted to repay it with intelligent conversation and an over of help should he ever need it. He hid his surprise at the offer rather well, but Sarali sensed it with ease. He merely said that he hoped it would not be necessary, but he would remember it.

The most surprising thing about the entire journey was the Padawan's sincere concern for her well-being. Sarali was used to only being truly cared about by two people: Shmi and Anakin. Everyone else had either blatantly not cared a wit what happened to her, or only cared because she would bring them money. Qui-Gon had cared, but despite the altogether benevolent legends of the Jedi, he could very well only have selfish reasons for wanting her well and uninjured. After a bit of thought, she had come to the conclusion that Anakin would be still more unhappy without her, and Qui-Gon quite obviously needed Anakin to go to the Jedi Temple for training. On the other hand, Sarali could think of no reason why Obi-Wan could possibly care about her well-being. He'd barely even met her, yet he took every opportunity he could to talk with her, ask her how she was feeling, help her whenever he could. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was in love, but Jedi did not form attachments. It was against the Code.

oooooooooooooooo

Finally, they had reached Coruscant. As they went in to land, Sarali stayed by Anakin in the cockpit. As the pilot guided them in to a landing platform, he said, "Coruscant. The entire planet is one, huge city. There's Chancellor Valorum's shuttle, and look over there. Senator Palpatine is waiting for us." Almost as soon as he said this, they had landed.

Senator Palpatine watched as the group of Naboo walked off the ramp. The two Jedi led the way with a small boy, a Gungan, and a young woman with cat ears and tail. The boy practically glowed with the Force. However, he felt the Force fluctuate when he saw the woman. It was her.

Sarali and Anakin followed the Jedi out towards the Chancellor and the Senator. After the Jedi had bowed, the three of them followed the Jedi's lead by backing up out of the Queen's way.

The Queen stepped forward with her handmaidens following behind. "It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty," Senator Palpatine said, his voice kind and benign. Sarali took a closer look at him. His hair was greying, but his face was open and honest. Despite that, she felt that she should not trust him. Whenever she sensed something like this, she followed it because she had never been wrong. "With the Communications break down we've been very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation," the Senator said. "May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum," he said next, gesturing to the other man.

"Welcome, Your Highness. It's an honour to finally meet you in person," he said. His voice held more of an edge to it. Despite that, she could feel that he was more trustworthy than the Senator.

"Thank you, Supreme Chancellor," the Queen said, stepping between the two men and walking with them toward their shuttle.

"I must relate to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation. I've called for a special session of the Senate to hear your position," he said as they continued to walk.

"I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor," the Queen said. As soon as she said that, the Chancellor stepped to the side. The Senator, the Queen, and the handmaidens continued to walk forward, with Anakin and, Sarali, and Jar Jar following.

At that point, Sarali stopped listening to them. Instead, she followed Anakin's lead and looked around at all of the buildings around them. She hadn't been here for years, so it would take some getting used to again.

She was pulled from these observations by Padme calling quietly, "Ani. Ani, come on." She looked around and found that she was next to Jar Jar, lagging behind the group. Anakin was even farther back. The boy looked back at the Jedi. Apparently, it was fine to go, so he ran up to walk by Padme's side.

The walked over to a shuttle. Jar Jar got in and sat beside the driver. Anakin followed, with Sarali coming last.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

When they arrived at Senator Palpatine's quarters, Padme steered Anakin, Jar Jar, and Sarali into a waiting room with instructions to stay. As she was about to leave, Padme paused and looked back at Sarali. "Sarali, I might actually have some old clothes that would fit you. We could alter them for your tail and ears!" Padme said quietly yet happily.

Sarali smiled and said, "That would be wonderful."

"Padme," the Queen said, interrupting that idea.

"Yes, your Majesty?" she asked, hurrying over into the next room.

Seconds later, another handmaiden dressed in the same red, orange, and yellow robe came over to them. "My name is Rabe," she said. "Padme said you needed new clothes."

Sarali smiled and said, "Yes. She said she had some extras that would fit me."

Rabe smiled and said, "Follow me."

oooooooooooo

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stood in the centre of the Jedi Council Chamber, which was at the top of the central spire of the Jedi Temple. The windows around them displayed an unparalleled view of Coruscant's vast cityscape stretching out into the distance.

No one in the room was focused on that. Instead, they all listened intently as Qui-Gon described the events on Naboo, their reason for landing on Tatooine, and finally the fight against the black robed man. His final statement was, "My only conclusion can be that it was a Sith Lord."

Almost instantly, one of the Jedi Masters responded. "Impossible." Of course, it was Ki-Adi-Mundi. "The Sith have been extinct for a millennium."

"I do not believe the Sith could return without us knowing," Mace Windu put in confidently.

"Ah, hard to see the dark side is," Yoda said. He had no idea how true that statement was.

"We will use all our resources here to unravel this mystery. We will discover the identity of your attacker," Mace said. "May the Force be with you."

The two Jedi in the centre bowed, and Obi-Wan began to walk to the door. However, he was stopped by Yoda asking, "Master Qui-Gon, more to say have you?" Obi-Wan turned around to watch this next part unfold.

"With your permission, my Master," Qui-Gon said. Yoda nodded, signalling for him to continue. "I have encountered a vergence in the Force."

"A vergence, you say?" Yoda asked.

"Located around a person?" Mace asked.

"A boy. His cells have the highest concentration of midichlorians I have seen in a life-form. It is possible that he was conceived by midichlorians," Qui-Gon continued. At this, Obi-Wan had to wonder: _what about Sarali? Her midichlorian count is second only to the boy._

"You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force," Mace said. He frowned slightly as he said, "You believe it's this boy?"

"I don't presume-" Qui-Gon began.

"But you do," Yoda said. "Revealed your opinion is."

"I request the boy be tested at once," Qui-Gon finished.

"Oh, trained as a Jedi you request for him, hmm?" Yoda said. He, as always, had found the true motive.

"Finding him was the will of the Force. I've no doubt of that," Qui-Gon said confidently.

The Jedi Masters looked amongst themselves before Mace sighed and said, "Bring him before us."

Qui-Gon bowed again before walking to the door. Obi-Wan, seeing this, bowed as well before walking out.

As soon as they were out of the Council Chamber, Obi-Wan asked his Master, "Why did you not tell them of Sarali?"

"Her path does not lead to the Jedi. I can feel it," Qui-Gon said simply.

"But the Council needs to know there's another," Obi-Wan protested.

"Why?" Qui-Gon asked simply. To that, Obi-Wan had no answer.

oooooooooooooooo

A few hours later, the Queen sat in Palpatine's office, dressed in a subdued blue robe that was, as always, ornate. A pearl and Shiraya fan headdress covered her Majesty's head just as white face paint covered her face.

Senator Palpatine paced around the Queen of Nabbo saying seriously, "The Republic is not what it once was. There is no interest in the common good- no civility, only politics. It's disgusting."

After a pause, he began to speak again, though this time much more gravely. "I must be frank, Your Majesty. Thereis little chance the Senate will act on the invasion."

Amidala frowned. She was still naive to the point that she thought the Senate would side with the Naboo immediately and end the invasion. "Chancellor Valorum seems to think there is hope," she said.

"If I may say so, Your Majesty, the Chancellor has little real power," Palpatine continued. "The bureaucrats are in charge now." He paused there in his pacing because he was at the right angle to look outside the glass doors to his office at the people waiting just outside.

She was there, standing straight. Her tail swished behind her, and her ears were facing forward. That in itself was surprising considering the amount of noise on Coruscant. He would have thought her ear would be pressed flat against her head to shield against the noise.

She was more beautiful than he had expected, but he had still recognized her so easily. She wore a brown-gold bodysuit, probably borrowed from one of the handmaidens. The yellow-gold sash was around her waist looked like it was only tight enough to stay on in action, rather than to change her figure. Over that, she wore a simple cedar-coloured cloak over that. Her auburn hair was twisted up into a simple, practical bun.

The Chosen One stood, trying hard not to pace. Instead, he fidgeted with his hands, hoping to keep using the adrenaline that was undoubtedly being pumped into his system.

Oh, and that Gungan was there.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Many hours ago, Anakin had left for the Jedi Temple. That left Jar Jar and Sarali to tag along with the Queen and her attendants. Subsequently, they waited through the time it took for the handmaidens to help their queen change into a different ensemble to speak in the Seante. After that, they were led through corridor after corridor of opulence to reach the Seante chamber, a fast amphitheatre that housed the representatives, their aids, consorts, assistants, etc, the Chancellor, and his retinue during the meetings of the Galactic Senate.

The two unofficial observers did not enter the round Naboo platform. Instead, they stayed behind in the little tunnel which served as the entrance to that platform. They both intended to observe the proceedings from there, for both were at the very least curious of what the Senate would say.

Soon, the Naboo platform floated out into the open air of the amphitheatre. It was accompanied by the Supreme Chancellor's introductory statement for them, "The Chair recognizes the representative from the Sovereign System of Naboo."

The Senator stood and said, "Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the Senate, a tragedy has occurred, which started right here with the taxation of the trade routes and has now engulfed our entire planet in the oppression of the Trade Federation."

A different voice interrupted Palpatine saying, "This is outrageous!" Sarali quickly looked out and saw the Trade Federation's platform floating out into the centre. "I object to the Senator's statement."

"The Chair does not recognize the Senator from the Trade Federation at this time," Valorum said calmly.

With that, Palpatine continued. "To state our allegations I present Queen Amidala, recently elected ruler of the Naboo, who speaks on our behalf."

Palpatine stepped back, allowing the Queen to step forward and address the Senate. "Honourable representatives of the Republic, I come to you under the gravest of circumstances. The Naboo system has been invaded by the droid armies of the Trade-"

"I object! There is no proof!" the delegate from the Trade Federation interrupted angrily. Sarali looked over at him, suspicion whirling through her mind. He was lying. She could sense it. "This is incredible. We recommend a commission be sent to Naboo to ascertain the truth." _They want a delay so that they can completely control Naboo before the officials from the Senate arrive._

"The congress of Malastair concurs with the honourable delegates from the Trade Federation. A commission must be appointed," the Malastair representative said quickly.

"The point," Valorum said before his aids leaned in to confer with him. Seconds later, they separated and the Chancellor said, "The point is conceded. Will you defer your motion in order to allow a commission to explore the truth of your accusations?" _Protocol gets in the way of action yet again._

"I will not defer," the Queen said. Her voice was raised. "I have come before you to resolve this attack on our sovereignty now. I was not elected to watch our people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee! If this body is not capable of action, I suggest new leadership is needed." She paused her, and when she began to speak again, Sarali could hear the hesitance and regret in her tone. "I move for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership."

The response amongst the representatives was an uproar. Many of the senators began to shout as one, "Vote now! Vote now!"

One of Valorum's aids shouted over them, "Order!" That did not stop the delegates.

Sarali did not listen to any more of the Senate session.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Long into the evening hours, Jar Jar stared out the window of Palpatine's quarters. This room, along with several others, had been generously provided by the senator for the Queen for the length of her stay. Sarali had long ago succumbed to weariness and presently slept curled in a chair near the window. The Queen, her handmaidens, and security personnel had been here for the same amount of time, waiting and hoping. During this time, the Queen had changed into a black gown with a more simple headdress and beaded designs in places.

Finally, Jar Jar broke the silence and asked, "Yousa tinken yousa people ganna die?"

"I don't know," Amidala answered sorrowfully.

"Gungans ganna get pasted too, eh?" he continued.

"I hope not," the Queen returned. That's all it was, a hope. More likely than not, they would die.

Jar Jar tried to reassure her by saying proudly, "Gugans no die'n without a fight. Wesa warriors! Wesa gotta grande army!" He looked back at the Queen and said speculatively, "Dat why you no liken us, metinks."

Before the Queen could say a single word more, the senator and Captain Panaka, chief of the Queen's defence, came into the room. Panaka bowed and said, "Your Highness, Senator Palpatine has been nominated to succeed Valorum as Supreme Chancellor, along with Bail Antilles of Aldaraan and Ailee Teem of Malastair."

"A surprise, to be sure," Palpatine said jovially, looking at the Queen. For just a second, she could have sworn his eyes had flicked down to look at Sarali, who still slumbered in the chair. "But a welcome one. I promise, Your Majesty, if I am elected, I will bring democracy back to the Republic, and put an end to corruption."

The Queen said more gravely, "Senator, I fear that by the time you have control of the bureaucrats, there will be nothing left of our cities, our people, our way of life."

Palpatine looked more sombre at that. He said, "I understand your concern, but the law is in their favour."

Amidala turned back to the window and said, "There is nothing more I can do here. Senator, this is your arena, and I fear I must now return to mine. I have decided to go back to Naboo. My place is with my people."

"Go back!" Palpatine said more loudly. That woke Sarali, but only Jar Jar noticed. The Gungan motioned her over and told her what had just happened.

"But your Majesty, be realistic! They will force you to sign the treaty!" Palpatine said urgently.

Calmly, Amidala said, "I will sign no treaty, Senator. My fate will be no different from that of my people." She then turned to Panaka. "Captain, ready my ship."

"Please, Your Majesty. Stay here, here it is safe."

"It is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions. If you win the election, Senator, I pray you will restore sanity and compassion to he Republic," the Queen said, walking past him swiftly. Her handmaidens, the security personnel, Panaka, Jar Jar, and Sarali followed quickly.

As Sarali walked out, she looked back at Palpatine. He was smiling right to her. Inwardly, Sarali was both confused and scared at that, but she showed none of it and merely turned back to follow the handmaidens.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Much later, Sarali woke with a start to a hand being laid on her shoulder. She opened her eyes quickly to see Obi-Wan standing over her. "We're about to land," he said.

She nodded and stretched for a second before jumping to her feet, unaware that Obi-Wan had been watching intently. After all, it was not often he could witness someone stretching when they were so inhumanly flexible.

"Lead the way," Sarali said, bringing the padawan's attention back to the present. Quickly, he obliged, leading her to the ramp and thence to the planet.

Immediately, Sarali was entranced by the moist atmosphere, the prolific amount of trees, and the swamps that were probably teaming with life. This world was better than any she had dreamed could be, even after visiting her homeworld when she was young.

Sarali walked over to one of the huge trees. She could sense that each tree was a definable part of this magnificent forest. It was as beautiful as it was natural.

"Mesa comin' back all quickin'," Jar Jar said, breaking her concentration on the trees. He awkwardly walked over to the lake-like swamp. A second later, he dove into the water.

"And now we wait," Obi-Wan said to her, attempting a stab at humour.

Sarali merely looked at him with raised eyebrows before she turned and walked back over to the tree. She sat cross-legged there and let her mind sink into the flow of power of the universe.

Obi-Wan watched her for nearly an hour, studying her carefully. He hadn't noticed before just how small she really was. With her stature and build, she couldn't possibly be very strong, even with the help of the Force. On the other hand, he had already seen for himself just how agile and quick she was. After all, she had surprised a Sith lord and managed to chop off one of his fingers.

That thought only brought up more and more. Where had she gotten that knife? Why did she have it? It was obvious that she had kept it sharp, so perhaps she only had it to defend herself. But where could a slave get a blade like that? From what he had seen, she and the Skywalkers barely had enough to live on, and nowhere near enough to be purchasing weapons.

At the same time that Obi-Wan was having his internal monologue, Qui-Gon had gone over to sit beside Anakin. For some time, they merely waited in silence, though the greater portion of that silence was spent with Qui-Gon watching his padawan with amusement. The apprentice's expression changed every few seconds based on what he was thinking. It most definitely was a lapse in his Jedi training, but it was amusing nonetheless.

Finally, Qui-Gon broke the silence by asking, "Does she meditate often?"

"Who, Sarali?" the boy asked. At the Jedi's nod, Anakin explained while picking at the grass, "She'd sit out on the ledge at night and just stare at the stars. I went to sit by her one time, but her eyes were glazed over like she was asleep."

Qui-Gon nodded and, mimicking his padawan, studied the half Cathar, though not for nearly as long. He could easily sense the Force flowing through her, a testament to her apparent experience with meditating. If she had no one to teach her, she must be very good at figuring things out for herself. Perhaps she had taught Anakin a few things. He had a feeling she had never taught him meditation. He probably wouldn't sit still long enough to calm his mind.

Hours later, Jar Jar resurfaced and said simply, "Theysa nobody dere. Da Gungan city is deserted. Some sort of fight, mesa thinks."

By that time, Obi-Wan and Qui-gon were standing near, with Anakin coming over at somewhat of a run. The Queen, her handmaiden, and Panaka were there as well. Sarali sighed and jumped to her feet. There would be no more peace. Now was the time for decisions. Even if she was not to partake of those decisions, she had to know what would happen. Her future depended on finding some way, somewhere to live.

"Do you think they've been taken to the camps?" Obi-Wan asked his master.

"More likely, they were wiped out," Panaka said.

"Mesa no think so," Jar Jar said.

"Do you know where they are, Jar Jar?" Qui-Gon asked.

"When in trouble, Gungans go to Sacred Place. Mesa show you. Come on, mesa show you," Jar Jar said. By the time he was finished, he was rushing to show them the way to this Sacred Place. All they could do was follow.

ooooooooooooo

Some time later, a few Gungans riding some type of native beast stepped out in front of them. They looked at Jar Jar, the Jedi, and the Queen before walking in front of them, guiding them hopefully to the Sacred Place. As they continued to walk, a row of Gungans seemed to almost appear on either side of them. They appeared to be quite stealthy creatures when the occasion called for it.

Finally, the Gungans leading them stopped in front of a very large tree. One of them said, "Your Honour, Queen Amidala of the Naboo." He stepped aside, allowing them, Jar Jar and the Queen in the lead, to step forward.

Jar Jar stepped in front of them and said nervously with a wave, "Eh...Hello, dedy Big Boss Nass, Your Honour."

A very large Gungan stepped up onto the tree roots from behind the tree, showing himself. Behind him stood two advisors. "Jar Jar Binks, _u_-sta usen bein' this?"

"I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo. I come before you in peace," the Queen said.

"Ah, yusa bringen the Makaneeks. Yusa all bom-bad," Boss Nass said seriously.

"We have searched you out because we wish to form an alliance," Amidala said.

"Your Honour," one of the handmaidens said, stepping forward. Sarali side stepped slightly and saw that it was Padme.

Boss Nass made a clicking noise before asking, "Whosa bein' this?"

"I am Queen Amidala," Padme said. _What? _"This is my decoy, my protection, my loyal bodyguard. I'm sorry for my deception, but it was necessary to protect myself." _Well this explains a lot. "_Although, we do not always agree, your Honour, our two great societies have always lived in peace."

"Ya," Boss Nass said.

"The Trade Federation has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build. If we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever. I ask you to help us. No, I beg you to help us," she said, kneeling on the ground. _Well, if she's kneeling. We should probably all kneel. _With that, everyone else in their group began to kneel. "We are your humble servants. Our fate is in your hands."

Boss Nass was silent for a few seconds before he began to laugh. Sarali tensed, unsure if his amusement was a good thing or a bad thing. "Yousa no thinken yousa than da Gungans!" he said merrily. He continued to chuckle before he said, "Meeeeeeee-sa lika this. Maybe wesa bein' friends." He then proceeded to wiggle his face from side to side in an odd motion that most likely meant something to them, but not to the humans.

At that points, the humans were smiling, while most of the Gungans were cheering and otherwise celebrating this historic moment, this wonderful success.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Sarali stood beside the Jedi, merely waiting. She had wanted to take a nap, but Obi-Wan had come over and said that it was not a good idea to, so now she waited, utterly bored.

"They're here!" Anakin yelled, running over to stand by Qui-Gon's side.

"Good. They made it," Padme remarked, looking up to the three speeders that whooshed over to land by the trees near them.

Panaka came over to stand beside the Queen. Almost immediately, Padme asked, "What is the situation?"

"Almost everyone's in camps. A few hundred police and guards have formed an underground resistance. I brought back as many of the leaders as I could," he said. He then turned to look at the Jedi and said, "The Federation Army is much larger than we thought, and much stronger. Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think we can win."

"The battle is a diversion," she said. "The Gungans much draw the droid armies away from the cities. R2," she said.

R2 whistled and projected a hologram onto the hood of the speeder around which they were gathered. It appeared to be a 3-d map of the palace.

"We can enter the city using the secret passage on the waterfall side. Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Panaka will create a diversion. Then, we can enter the palace and capture the Viceroy. Without the Viceroy they will be lost and confused. What do you think Master Jedi?"

"The Viceroy will be well-guarded," Qui-Gon said.

"The difficulty's getting into the throne room. Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem," Panaka said.

"With the size of the Trade Federation army, they could easily keep enough droids behind to overwhelm whatever group we send in there," Sarali interrupted.

"And there's a possibility that with this diversion many Gungans will be killed," Qui-Gon said, continuing with the listing of problems.

"Wesa ready to do arsen part," Boss Nass said confidently.

"We have a plan which should immobilize the droid army. We will send what pilots we have to knock out the droid control ship orbiting the planet," Padme continued.

"A well-conceived plan. However, there's great risk. The weapons on your fighters might not penetrate the shields," Qui-Gon said.

"And there's an even bigger danger," Ob-Wan said, "If the Viceroy escapes, Your Highness, he will return with another droid army."

"Well, that is why we must not fail to get the Viceroy. Everything depends on it," the Queen said confidently. _Such optimism. She doesn't know how easily this could go wrong._

She was sure, though, so the Gungan army marched out immediately. The Queen's group, in which were the Jedi, Anakin, Sarali, and others, headed out to the city.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Once they were in the city, Padme signalled their readiness to Panaka. As they did, Qui-Gon turned and bent down to say to Anakin, "Once we get inside, find a safe place to hide and stay there."

"Sure," Anakin said quickly, nodding his head.

"Stay there," Qui-Gon warned again before he stood and looked at the partial human.

"Stay with the Queen," he said to her.

All Sarali did was nod.

Panaka's troops and their security vehicle came around the corner. They all opened fire on the droids while their speeder with weapons shot the tank. All of the droids turned and began to shook at the humans while the humans quickly retreated, drawing the droids away from the entrance.

Quickly, the Queen ran forward with the Jedi, Anakin, and Sarali following. The Jedi deflected the blaster fire away from then and destroyed all two droids that were still near the door. Padme hurried entered a code in the control panel, which opened the doors. The Jedi, Anakin, and Sarali rushed in with the Queen following. Part of Panaka's group followed her inside.

The group hurried down a hallway to the hangar. There, the Jedi stepped in front as the doors opened. Their lightsabers blurred in a fury of action as thy deflected the blaster fire away. Everyone behind them, except for R2 and Anakin returned fire at the same time, hitting droid after droid.

Almost as soon as they were in the hangar, Qui-Gon called to Anakin, "Ani, find cover! Quick!"

"Get to your ships!" the Queen yelled to the pilots. The orange and yellow garbed pilots ran toward the ships, but a couple were shot in the process. Soon enough, ships were flying out of the hangar bay. Now, they had to hope that the ships could knock out the droid control ship.

By this time, Sarali spared very little attention for anyone. She was totally focused on shooting the droids and protecting the Queen. Soon enough, the fighters were gone and the droids were destroyed.

At that point, the group assembled in the middle of the hangar. "My guess is the Viceroy's in the throne room," the Queen said.

Panaka just nodded and called out, "Red group, blue group, everybody this way."

"Hey! Wait for me!" Anakin said. Sarali immediately turned to see him. He was standing in a fighter cockpit.

"Anakin, stay where you are. You'll be safe there," Qui-Gon said.

"But I-" the boy began.

"Stay in that cockpit," he said.

The doors to the hangar opened before anyone touched the controls. On the other side, a single, black shrouded figure stood menacingly, blocking their way. As the group stopped in front of him, his yellow eyes flicked up to look at them and his red and black tattooed face came up menacingly with it.

"We will handle this," Qui-Gon said, stepping through the group to the front.

"We'll take the long way," the Queen said, turning to a different exit.

Sarali followed the Queen, but she glanced back before she was out of sight. The figure's hood was done now, and there were horns on top of his head.

The sound of rolling metal brought her attention back. Three droids rolled in to block their path. They unfolded and drew weapons. Instantly, Sarali fired. She shot one from the side, destroying it. A second later, the other two brought shields up, protecting them from blasters.

Immediately, the group hurried to the pillars for cover and began to shoot back at the droids. They continued this way for a few seconds before another fighter came flying. It shot one droid and smashed one with its wing before flying out to the droid control ship. Sarali looked back to where Anakin was supposed to be. The fighter was gone. That was him!

"Let's go!" Padme yelled, hurrying toward the other exit.

The doors opened, revealing a huge, marble hallway with a high ceiling and large windows spaced evenly down the whole length. They began to run down the hallway, but some droids came in and began to block their way. Quickly, the entire group ran to both sides for cover. Once they were out of sight, they peeked out and began to fire back, destroying droid after droid.

From the other side of the hallway, Sarali heard Padme say to Panaka, "We don't have time for this, Captain."

Quickly, Sarali dodged to the next pillar to avoid the glass as Panaka shot several times at the window she had just been standing beside. "Run!" Panaka commanded.

Sarali was nowhere near the first to the window. The rest of the group was already on the ledge by the time she got there. "Ascension guns!" Panaka said quickly.

Oh, this was bad. She didn't have one. She'd have to stay here, but at least she could cover their escape. Sarali turned back to the droids and quickly picked them off. After all, she had practiced often enough on Tatooine.

Once those droids were gone, Sarali hurried out to the window ledge and looked up. The group was gone. _Now what?_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Instantly, Sarali's decision was made and she ran back toward the hangar. When she got there, she noticed a great deal of wreckage, but no Jedi. The doors! Quickly, Sarali hurried to one set of doors, she could feel them fighting still through there. The doors opened to reveal the energy core. It was gigantic. If she hadn't been Force Sensitive, she would not have been able to find them, but as it was, she could sense them a few levels up from her. She quickly ran down the walkway to a spot where the levels overlapped. Then, she jumped up. She landed a level up and jumped again, and again.

Now that she was on the right level, she could see Obi-Wan. He was behind some type of energy barrier, watching something closely. She ran closer and saw a black figure pacing farther down the hallway. An energy barrier separated him and Qui-Gon, who knelt on the floor, resting.

Sarali did not call out. That would distract them. Instead, she ran toward them, stopping at the first barrier. Seconds later, the barriers dropped one by one. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, and Qui-Gon leapt to his feet in one fluid motion.

Instantly, Qui-Gon and the horned man were fighting once more. Obi-Wan ran toward them, as did Sarali, but she could not catch up with him. He was taller and longer legged. The barriers went up again, trapping Obi-Wan one away from helping his master. Sarali was several farther back.

Qui-Gon and the horned man fought around a great pit, seemingly equally matched. However, the stranger hit Qui-Gon in the nose before stabbing him in the stomach. "NO!" Obi-Wan yelled, while Sarali barely managed to restrain herself.

Qui-Gon collapsed to the floor, dyeing. At the same time, the stranger walked over to stand before Obi-Wan, ready to fight him. He did not notice her.

The two waited for a minute. A second before the barrier shut down again, they both ignited their lightsabers. As soon as they were able to, they began to fight again.

Sarali ran forward, not caring for personal safety. She hurried around the pit to Qui-Gon. He was stil alive, but barely.

"Qui-Gon," she said softly as she picked up his head to help him breathe.

"Use your gifts," he said weakly, "You are force sensitive. Use it."

Almost as soon as he said that, Sarali felt a change in fight. She looked over, but only saw the stranger, looking down into the pit. She inhaled sharply before she noticed Qui-Gon's lightsaber on the floor next to her.

In a second, she jumped up, lightsaber in hand and ignited, and attacked the stranger. He was far more skilled than her, but she used a technique he had never seen before. All she could do was fend off his attacks.

While they fought, Obi-Wan hung on tightly to the knob on the wall of the pit. He could see them fighting, and he could tell that she would not last long against the Sith. She would die if he did not help. He could not let that happen.

The padawan gathered his strength and reached out to the Force. Then, he pulled hard with his arms, launching himself up and out of the pit.

Almost instantly, Sarali's eyes flicked to him. She dropped down and threw him his lightsaber, allowing them both to attack simultaneously. Thanks Obi-Wan, they quickly overwhelmed the stranger, which soon allowed Obi-Wan to slice him through his stomach, separating his lower half from his upper. The man tumbled backward into the pit.

Instantly, Sarali was racing to Qui-Gon's side once more. She looked back only to see Obi-Wan still standing there, breathing heavily and staring after the man he had just killed. "Obi-Wan!" she said urgently. Only then did he look up. That served as a reminder that his master was dying. The padawan then ran to Qui-Gon's side.

He lifted up the older man's head and held it. Qui-Gon spoke weakly to his padawan saying, "It's...It's too late."

"No," Obi-Wan protested weakly.

"Obi-Wan...promise...promise me you will train the boy," he said.

"Yes, Master," he said sorrowfully.

"He...is the Chosen One...he...will bring balance...train him..." Qui-Gon said. Those were his last words. He closed his eyes one last time, and died.

Obi-Wan bent over the body of his master and weapt.

Seconds later, a hand rested on his back, rubbing it gently. Another hand was at his shoulder, pulling him up from the body. Obi-Wan looked up to see Sarali. A couple tears dripped down her face, but her eyes showed more understanding for him than sorrow. She could tell that right now, he needed someone, anyone near. Because of that, she wrapped her arms around him and let him cry.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

The next day, most of the city was filled with a sense of euphoria. The Trade Federation was gone, and the people were safe. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, tried desperately not to give in to his sorrow.

Sarali kept to herself for most of the day, except that Anakin stuck with her even through her silence. He just needed to think. For much of the day, they just sat in one of the many hallways of the palace and stared out the window.

Finally, Sarali spoke. "Anakin, what did the Jedi Council say?" She felt guilty for not asking earlier.

"They said I'm too young," he said, looking down sadly.

"Don't worry. I heard from Padme that the Jedi Council is coming here. They might reconsider," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Really?" he asked, naive hope in his voice.

"Yes," she said, smiling down at him.

"Sarali," a voice called from the other side of the hallway.

Both people turned to see Rabe striding toward her. "Yes?" Sarali asked.

"The Queen would like to see you," the handmaiden said, though he was still over a hundred feet away. Once again, the superior hearing of the Cathar had served Sarali well.

"Lead the way," Sarali said, standing and running over to her quickly.

Rabe lead the way through the hallways of the palace to the Queen's quarters. Once inside, she led the partial human through a couple rooms to a sitting room. Once there, Rabe went into yet another room. Seconds later, Padme came into the sitting room and said, "Sarali! Good to see you."

"You, as well, Your Highness," Sarali said.

"None of that. When we're alone, I'm still just Padme," she said.

Sarali only smiled in response.

"Anyway, I know you have nowhere to go, so would you like to stay here on Naboo as my bodyguard?" Padme asked.

Sarali stared for a second before saying honestly, "That would be great."

"Have you heard whether Anakin will be a Jedi or not?" she asked.

"On Coruscant, they said he was too old, but after what's happened, they might reconsider when they come here," Sarali said.

"If he can't, he welcome here, too," Padme said.

"He'll be happy to hear that," Sarali said, smiling.

ooooooooooooo

A couple days later, an official shuttle arrived from Coruscant. The Queen, her entourage, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and more came to greet them.

The Queen stood in front of the Viceroy of the Trade Federation and said, "Now, Viceroy, you're going to have to go back to the Senate and explain all this."

Palpatine walked forward to a young man wearing Jedi robes and a young boy, the Chosen One. "We are indebted to you for your bravery, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and you, young Skywalker. We will watch your career with great interest." _You will give me control over the galaxy._

He then walked past them to the Queen. "Congratulations on your election, Chancellor."

"Your boldness has saved our people, Your Majesty. It's you who should be congratulated. Together, we shall bring peace and prosperity to the Republic," Palpatine said, smiling.

His eyes flicked through the crowd, looking for her. Finally, she saw her. She was dressed exactly as she had been. There was a blaster at her hip and a sheathed blade on her other hip. He recognized the design instantly. After all, he was the one who had given it to her years ago. The only question was: what was she doing with the Queen's handmaidens?

oooooooooo

That night, Boss Nass, the Jedi Council, the Naboo higher government, and the Chancellor gathered for Qui-Gon's funeral. This was a tragic occurrence, but what better way to give him up to the Force than with the Queen of Naboo, Gungan leader, the Jedi Council, and the High Chancellor there to witness.

For the different people, it meant different things. For the Queen, this was seeing off a brave, noble man who had given his life for the peace of Naboo. Anakin saw this as sending off the first man to be anything like a father for him. Sarali saw this as the passing of a Jedi, a defender of the peace of the republic.

Two people's views stood out more than the rest. Obi-Wan's grief ran deep within him. Qui-Gon had been more like a father than anything. He would miss his mentor greatly. The other one was Palpatine. Yes, his plan had failed, but a Jedi Master was dead, one that would have had a better chance of spotting him for what he was. This was the beginning of the end for the Jedi.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

The next day, Padme made Sarali wear a dress to the celebration. She was very nearly mortified by it, but, of course, the Queen had insisted. That got the partial human to her current situation of standing beside Obi-Wan and Anakin as one of the heroes of the hour. Apparently, Obi-Wan had told people of how Sarali had helped to kill the Sith.

Quickly, she shook off her thoughts of the past and focused on the parade moving toward them. It was made up of Gungan soldiers marching along with Boss Nass and Jar Jar riding on very large creatures native to the swamps. Once they reached the steps, the parade stopped and the two Gungans dismounted. They walked up the steps so that Boss Nass stood beside Padme with Jar Jar on his other side.

The governor of the city handed Padme a large energy orb. She in turn handed it to Boss Nass, symbolizing their peace. That made Sarali smile. She was very glad that such a beautiful planet like Naboo was liberated from the Trade Federation. If they hadn't been, the planet would've been destroyed to a desolate wasteland.

Of course, she regretted that Qui-Gon was not there to see this, for he had helped to create this. However, she knew her pain and grief was nowhere near as severe as Obi-Wan's. They had been almost as father and son for years, and then he was suddenly ripped from the apprentice. He could recover, but he would never be quite the same person.

There was more to think of than the past, though. Sarali had to look ahead to the life that awaited her as Padme's bodyguard. Thus far, that meant that she should always be by Padme. Of course, that made perfect sense as they had just overthrown an oppressive force. There would likely still be danger, but it was manageable in comparison.

Despite all this, she wondered if she'd ever see Anakin or Obi-Wan again. She'd heard that Anakin was now _Jedi_ Obi-Wan's apprentice, and she was glad for him. This was what he had always wanted. Now, he merely had to apply himself.

Chancellor Palpatine's mind was running on quite a different path. He knew very well that his plans had failed. At the same time, he was now Supreme Chancellor. With his new power, he could change the Senate until he had more and more power until this very same power was absolute and total control. Then, he could rule the galaxy.

First, he needed to convert the Chosen One and _her_. Without them, his plans would fail. He needed both of them to trust him, but that would be especially hard with _her_ as she would be on Naboo. Then again, if Amidala became a senator after her term as Queen, then he could talk with her more and gain her trust.

A once more different thought process was whirling through the mind of a one Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was, of course, still quite sad about Qui-Gon, but he had accepted that his master was with the Force. Now, he looked forward to training Anakin. From what he could tell of the boy, it would be quite interesting.

For a second, he glanced over at Sarali. She had been there for him when Qui-Gon had died. He had to repay her for that, even if it took the rest of her life.

Later that day, Obi-Wan and his new apprentice left for the Jedi Temple. Neither of their lives would be the same after the events here, but they didn't expect them to be. Things would change. They would meet new people, do all sorts of new things, struggle, succeed, survive, and live. That was the way of the galaxy, of the universe.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Attack of the Clones  
**

A Naboo cruiser and three fighters landed on a platform on Coruscant. The three pilots of the fighters got out of their ships and walked over to meet the Senator and her entourage as they disembarked. One of them, the tallest by far, took off his helmet, revealing a thirty year old face with a missing eye. "We made it," he said, looking at the other two.

The shortest pilot took off their helmet revealing a half-Cathar face with hair pulled back into a practical style. Her ears slowed unflattened and her feline eyes dilated to accommodate the new light spectrum. "Do not count this a success until we are inside," she, Sarali Linat, said warningly. She had heard enough about assassination attempts to be wary even now.

"I guess I was wrong. There was no danger at all," the man, Captain Typho, said gladly.

Suddenly, the ship burst into a fireball, sending shrapnel and people flying. The three pilots were far enough away that they were merely thrown off their feet. The group that had been walking down the ramp was not so lucky.

The pilot that had not taken off their helmet ran to the Senator, closely followed by the other two pilots.

The third pilot pulled off their helmet as they knelt beside the senator. The beautiful, feminine, young face of the senator was revealed. "Corde," the Senator said, rolling over the 'senator'.

"My Lady," the woman said weakly, looking up into the face of the woman she had been impersonating. "I'm so sorry. I failed you, Senator."

"No," the Senator said disbelievingly as the woman before her died.

Captain Typho knelt beside the Senator and said urgently, "My lady, you're still in danger here."

The Senator rose slowly, but she continued to stare at the dead woman on the ground. "I shouldn't have come back," she said sadly.

"This vote is very important. You did your duty. Corde did hers. Come," Captain Typho said. Still the Senator stood.

"Sarali," Captain Typho said, calling to the other pilot who had been searching amongst the bodies for anyone still alive.

Instantly, the demi-human looked up. Upon seeing the look upon the senator's physiognomy, she hurried over and said, "Senator, come." Still, she did not move. "Padme!" Sarali said sharply. Finally, the Senator reacted, snapping her head over to look at the shorter woman.

As soon as her attention was away from Corde, Typho led the Senator and Sarali away from the landing pad.

oooooooooooooo

Later that same day, Senator Amidala, now suitably attired, and her entourage entered the High Chancelor's office. "Senator Amidala, your tragedy on the landing platform terrible. Seeing you alive brings warm feelings to my heart," Jedi Master Yoda said sincerely to her.

"Do you have any idea who's behind this attack?" the Senator asked right after.

"Our intelligence points to disgruntled spice miners on moon of Naboo," Master Windu said, walking toward her.

"I think that Count Dooku was behind it," she said in return.

"He's a political idealist, not a murderer," Master Ki Adi Mundi said, waving away the speculation.

"You know, My Lady, Count Dooku was once a Jedi," Windu said. "I couldn't assassinate anyone. It's not in his character." _So sure of yourself. When people start to assume things, the feces hits the fan._

"But, for certain, Senator, in grave danger you are," Yoda said with certainty in his voce. _That much is true._

"Master Jedi, may I suggest the Senator be placed under the protection of your graces," Palpatine suggested.

"Do you really think that would be a wise decision under these stressful times?" Senator Bail Organa said, stepping forward. _Ah, the voice of reason speaks once more. Why couldn't he have been made Chancellor?_

"Chancellor, if I may comment, I do not believe the situation-" Amidala tried to say.

"Is that serious? Oh, but I do, Senator. I realize all too well additional security might be disruptive for you, but perhaps someone you're familiar with. An old friend, like...Master Kenobi," Palpatine suggested. _Obi-Wan...I wonder how he and Anakin have been._

"That's possible. He's just returned from a border dispute on Ansion," Windu said.

"Do it for me, My Lady, please. The thought of losing you...is unbearable," Palpatine said. He sounded and looked sincere enough, but there was just something about him that made Sarali not quite trust him.

"I will have Obi-Wan report to you immediately, My Lady," Windu said to the Senator.

"Thank you, Master Windu," she said before turning and walking out the door.

As she and the rest of her entourage left, Palpatine watched one person in particular: Sarali. She had certainly changed since last he'd seen her. Her eyes were less troubled, but at the same time more wise.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Only an hour later, two Jedi came to a high rise of Senatorial quarters. In the lift on the way up, the older one commented, "You seem a little on edge."

The younger, though taller, said in return, "Not at all."

"I haven't felt you this tense since- since we fell into that nest of Gundarks," the older said.

"You fell into that nightmare, Master, and I rescued you. Remember?" the younger said.

"Oh...Yes," the Master said, chuckling. He then glanced over at his apprentice again and said, "You're sweating. Relax. Take a deep breath."

"I haven't seen either of them in ten years, Master," the apprentice said seriously.

The Master looked away, smiling slightly and shaking his head.

Moments later, the lift stopped and the doors opened. In the room beyond, a tall alien with floppy ears awaited them. He wore ceremonial robes, but was as awkward as ever. "Obi? Obi! Mesa so smilin' to seein' yousa!" the alien said eagerly, taking the Master's hand and shaking it vigourously.

"Good to see you again, Jar Jar," Obi-Wan said warmly.

Jar Jar led the two Jedi into the sitting room. Four figures stood on a balcony beside there: a security offier, a woman in an ornate gown, a woman in a less ornate gown, and a very short woman with feline ears wearing much simpler and more practical gown.

"Senator Padme, wesa pal-os here! Looky, looky, Senator. Desa Jedi arrive," Jar Jar said happily.

The three people turned, and all of them smiled at the sight of the Gungan with the two Jedi. The Senator walked over to Obi-Wan and held out her hand to shake. "It's a great pleasure to see you again, My Lady," Obi-Wan said to her.

"It has been far too long, Master Kenobi," she said in return. Then, her eyes flicked to the sight and stopped on the apprentice. "Ani?" she asked uncertainly. "My goodness, you've grown."

"So have you," the apprentice said, stepping forward nervously. "More beautiful, I mean. Well, for a Senator, I mean."

She smiled before saying, "Ani, you'll always be that little boy I knew on Tatooine."

She then turned and walked over to a couch. As she did, Obi-Wan said, "Our presence here will be invisibly, My Lady. I can assure you."

The Senator sat with the two other women on one side of her and Jar Jar on the other ,while the other man remained standing. The two jedi sat on the couch facing that one."I'm Captain Typho of her Majesty's security service. Queen Jamila has been informed of your assignment. I am grateful you're here, Master Kenobi. The situation is more dangerous than the Senator will admit."

"I don't need more security. I need answers," the Senator insisted. "I want to know who's trying to kill me."

"We're here to protect you, Senator, not to start an investigation," Obi-Wan said.

"We'll find out who's trying to kill you, Padme. I promise you," Anakin said. _Anakin, you have grown up from a little, eager boy into a love-struck teenager._

"We will not exceed our mandate, my _young _Padawan learner," Obi-Wan said pointedly to Anakin.

"I meant it in the interest of protecting her, Master, of course," Anakin said in return.

"We will not go through this exercise _again_, Anakin, and you will pay attention to my lead," Obi-Wan said seriously.

"Why?" Anakin asked.

"What?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Why else do you think we were assigned to her if not to find the killer? Protection is a job for local security, not Jedi. It's overkill, master. Investigation is implied in our mandate," Anakin ranted.

"We will do exactly as the Council has instructed. You will learn your place, Young One," Obi-Wan said.

"Gentlemen, a quarrel is quickly settled when deserted by one party; there is no battle unless there be two," Sarali interrupted, admonishing them both. The two of them were silent following that admonishment. (**Seneca)**

"Perhaps with merely your presence, the mystery surrounding this threat will be revealed," the Senator suggested hopefully. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will retire." With that, the Senator, the handmaiden, the Gungan, and the demi-human stood. Only the handmaiden and the senator left.

The remaining people gathered together, and Captain Typho said, "I know I'm happy you're here. I'll have an officer stationed on every floor, and we have a control centre downstairs." The master and the captain left to talk over the details.

Jar Jar then turned to Anakin and said, "Mesa bustin' with happiness seein' you again, Ani!"

"She hardly even recognized me, Jar Jar," Anakin lamented.

"I've thought about her every day since we've parted. She's forgotten me completely," Anakin said sadly.

"Shesa happy, happier dan mesa seein her in a long-o time," Jar Jar said consolingly.

"Anakin, do not feel bad. I hardly recognized you when you entered, so much have you grown," the demi-human woman said, walking over to them.

"Sarali?" he asked disbelievingly, turning to her.

"How many other half-Cathar women do you know, Ani?" she asked, coming over and opening her arms. Just as she predicted, Anakin hugged her.

When he let go, he said, "You've changed, too. You seem older, but younger, too."

"Wisdom always comes at a price, Anakin," she said seriously.

"Anakin, be mindful of your thoughts. She was pleased to see us," Obi-Wan said, walking back over to them. He looked over at Jar Jar and then at Sarali. His eyes locked on her.

"Sarali?" he asked, unsure.

"Yes," she said, nodding.

He smiled and said, "It is good to see you again."

"And you as well, Master Jedi. But, please remember, the wisest mind has something yet to learn," she said seriously to him. (**George Santayana)**

He was silent for a second, before he said, "I'll go check security." With a nod, he walked away.

"I must go help the Senator," she said, leaving as well.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Later that evening, Sarali was meditating again. In that time, Anakin had gone to the balcony to think, which left Obi-Wan to monitor things. Eventually, Obi-Wan went back out to Anakin and said, "You look tired."

"I don't sleep well anymore," Anakin said seriously.

"Because of your mother?" the older man asked.

Anakin looked down for a second before nodding reluctantly. After another moment of silence, he said, "I don't know why I keep dreaming about her."

Obi-Wan walked closer and said, "Dreams pass in time."

"I'd much rather dream about Padme. Just being around her again is...intoxicating," Anakin said, walking back into the room.

"Be mindful of your thoughts, Anakin. They betray you," he said seriously. "You've made a commitment to the Jedi order, a commitment not easily broken, and don't forget she's a politician. They're not to be trusted."

"She's not like the others in the Senate, Master," Anakin insisted.

"It is my experience that Senators focus on pleasing only those who fund their campaigns," Obi-Wan said warningly. "And they're in no way scared of avoiding the niceties of democracy in order to get those-"

"Not another lecture, at least not on the economics of politics," Anakin said exasperatedly. "And besides, you're generalizing. The Chancellor doesn't appear to be corrupt."

"Nor does a mushroom appear to be poisonous," Sarali said, surprising both of them. They turned to look at her. She sat on the sofa, her eyes still closed. However, she was most definitely not meditating. A second later, her eyes flicked open and settled on the two men.

"Palpatine is a politician," she said seriously. "Very few of them are as noble as they seem."

"I have observed that he is very adept at following the passions and prejudices of the Senate," Obi-Wan added.

"I think he's a good man. My-" Anakin stopped speaking and turned his head toward Padme's room.

A moment later, Sarali was sprinting toward the door, a blaster in her hand.

"I sense it, too," Obi-Wan said hurrying after both her and Anakin.

Anakin made it into the room first. He drew his lightsaber and swiftly cut two giant millipedes that had been crawling up Padme's bed. That certainly woke Padme. In that time, Obi-Wan looked to the window and saw a droid. Quickly, he ran to the window and leapt out of it, grabbing onto the droid. It flew away into the distance as Sarali and Anakin watched.

An instant later, both of them were running out of the room. As they ran, Sarali said, "Two levels up there are speeders."

Anakin nodded and began to sprint with Sarali following suit a moment later. Within a minute, they had reached the speeder parking level. Sarali led the way out onto the platform to a yellow speeder with an open cockpit. Anakin jumped in to the pilot seat with her in the passenger side. A second later, they were off to save Obi-Wan.

Sarali clung tightly to the speeder as Anakin wove through the crowded skies of Coruscant. Along the way, he narrowly avoided colliding with several speeders. Of course, he was still a wonderful pilot.

Soon, Sarali spotted something falling. A closer look revealed it to be Obi-Wan. "Over there!" she said to Anakin, pointing. Anakin glanced over and turned the speeder to manoeuvre under the falling man.

Seconds later, Obi-Wan landed on the back of their speeder and pulled himself forward. Sarali quickly scooted over to let Obi-Wan sit in the passenger seat. She sat squished between the two men.

"What took you so long?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Oh, you know, Master. I couldn't find a speeder that I really liked," Anakin said as he flew after the assassin.

"Oh, yes," Obi-Wan said.

"With the open cockpit and the right speed capabilities," Anakin said.

"If you spent as much time on your saber techniques as you do your wrench, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman," Obi-Wan remarked.

"I thought I already did," Anakin returned.

"Only in your mind, my very young apprentice," Obi-Wan returned, sounding much more like a master.

After a little more manoeuvring, Anakin directed the speeder straight down after the assassin. A second later, a large ship moved into their way. "Pull up, Anakin," Obi-Wan said seriously.

Anakin only laughed giddily.

"Anakin!" Sarali said sharply.

Almost too late, Anakin pulled up the speeder, realizing how close they had been. "You know I don't like it when you do that," Obi-Wan said.

"Sorry, Master. I forgot you don't like flying," Anakin said.

"I don't mind flying, but what you're doing is suicide," Obi-Wan insisted.

"He has thrill issues," Sarali said to that same man.

The three of them continued to follow the assassin into the burned portion of the city. Soon, the assassin shot a power coupling with their blaster. The power coupling burst to a life of crackling energy just before they flew through. It electrocuted both them and the speeder. As the electricity dissipated, Obi-Wan said indignantly, "Anakin! How many times have I told you to stay away from power couplings!"

They continued to follow the assassin back into an inhabited part of Coruscant. Almost as soon as they were back amongst the speeders, the assassin flew off into a tunnel. Anakin flew right past it.

"Anakin! They went that way!" Sarali said immediately.

"Where are you going?" Obi-Wan asked, also confused.

"Master, if we keep this chase up any longer, that creep is going to end up deep-fried," Anakin said. "This is a short cut, I think."

"You think? What do you mean?" Sarali demanded.

"It means we're lost," Obi-Wan said bluntly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well, what are we going to do-?" she began to ask.

Anakin interrupted her by saying, "If you'll excuse me..." With that, he leapt out of the speeder and let himself plummet through the air toward some unknown target.

Obi-Wan looked up from his apprentice to Sarali and said while shaking his head, "I hate it when he does that."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Plummeting. Plunging. That is precisely what Anakin was doing, falling past speeders and floor upon floor of high rises amongst the mile high skyscrapers. His arms were spread wide to control this fall, to guide him in the direction of the speeder.

The yellow speeder. The vehicle in which the person who was trying to kill Padme currently flew. He had to get to it. If he did not, Padme could die.

Just a few more seconds...Got it!

Anakin latched onto the speeder as he landed on it. Because of the speeder's velocity, Anakin slid back along the body of the speeder, but he managed to cling to it.

The assassin most certainly knew that he was there. They sped and slowed before turning sharply. That turn forced Anakin to slid all the way over the speeder's length to the very front tip. He clung to one of the two protrusions on the front of the speeder, waiting for the next trick the assassin would throw at him.

Soon enough, the assassin fired the Anakin. Quickly, he swung over to the other protrusion, only narrowly avoiding having his hands burnt to a crisp.

Next, the assassin tried to speed up as they dodged amongst the speeders in the normal traffic lanes. This did little, which allowed Anakin to swing himself back up onto the speeder. Seeing that, the assassin quickly turned, making Anakin slide once more along the length of the speeder.

However, the assassin glanced back at him as they turned. In that glance, Anakin saw that the assassin was a woman and a changelum

The padawan did not let this information distract him. Nimbly, he climbed up on top of the speeder and drew his lightsaber. He quickly cut through the top of the speeder, attempting to hit the assassin. She, in return, fired her blaster at him, causing him to drop his lightsaber. It went flying, or rather falling, through the air only to be caught by a person in another speeder that followed the one to which he was currently clinging.

A few seconds more of struggling for control of the blaster proved disastrous. The assassin fired, attempting, of course, to hit Anakin. Instead, she hit the controls of the speeder. This sent the vehicle in a crash course for the ground.

All either of them could do was cling tightly to the speeder as it dove toward the ground, beginning to burn with them still very much so attached to it. As the speeder neared the ground, it wavered in its course, tipping and rolling. The very first of these tips cast Anakin off the speeder to the hard Duracrete (cement) below.

The assassin was left in the speeder as it came down to crash into a building. While Anakin picked himself up from his undeniably hard landing, the assassin leapt out of the speeder and ran away into a nearby club, presumably to hide.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Sarali continued to follow Anakin in their speeder. When they saw the crash, Obi-Wan hurried in for a landing. Even before they were fully stopped, Sarali had jumped out of the speeder to race after Anakin, the energetic young man that he was.

Obi-Wan took only slightly longer to exit the speeder before following the other three in turn. His greater height should have allowed him to overtake Sarali easily, but she had always been far faster than her height led on. As it was, she reached Anakin before he did, which meant she was able to pull him to a stop before he ran into the club.

Seconds later, Obi-Wan arrived, stopping beside them. Anakin quickly pointed toward the entrance to the building and said urgently, "She went into the club, Master."

"Patience. Use the Force," Obi-Wan instructed.

"Think," Sarali added on seriously. After all, she knew of his particular gender and age group's tendency to think with the lower brain. She had voiced those very same concerns before on multiple occasions.

"Sorry, Master," Anakin answered, though he seemed confused. It was almost as though he did not know which of them to answer.

"He went in there to hide, not to run," Obi-Wan explained.

"We can far more easily catch them when they are stationary and believe they are hidden than when they are running," Sarali elaborated.

"...Yes, Master," Anakin said after glancing at his once-sister.

Obi-Wan then held up Anakin's lightsaber and said, "Next time, try not to lose it."

"Yes, Master," Anakin said again, though he did not sound like he was listening.

"This weapon is your life," Obi-Wan said seriously.

"I'll try, Master," Anakin said.

With that, Obi-Wan turned and walked into the club. Anakin and Sarali followed side by side. As they walked, Sarali shook her head and said, "Trying is for those who know they will not succeed."

In response, Anakin just looked at her and grinned.

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?" Obi-Wan asked, though it was not entirely serious.

"Intuition," Sarali said with a sardonic smile.

Anakin ignored her and walked up to Obi-Wan's side. "Don't say that, Master. You're the closest thing I have to a father," he said.

Sarali could sense that he was being entirely sincere about this. That did not stop her from snorted and saying under her breath, "You two act more like brothers than father and son."

"Then you're the older sister," Anakin said fondly, turning back to smile at her.

"As the older sister, I say listen to Obi-Wan," Sarali said, playing along with the charade while getting her message across.

"He listens to you, but he doesn't listen to me," Obi-Wan remarked.

"I am trying," Anakin insisted.

Now that they were not so engrossed in their conversation, Sarali and the two Jedi looked around the club. All around, there were males of all types and species and many women, mostly human, and just about all scantily clad. Of course, it _had_ to be a club like this.

"Do you see him?" Obi-Wan asked vaguely. He could have been talking about either or neither of them, but his tone made it clear that he was speaking to both.

"I think he is a she. And I think she is a changelum," Anakin said.

"In that case, be extra-careful," Obi-Wan instructed. This time, it was directed more at his padawan than at her. It was almost as though he already knew that she could handle herself quite well. After a second, Obi-Wan said to Anakin, "Go and find her."

"Where are you two going, Master?" Anakin asked.

"For a drink," Obi-Wan answered as though it was obvious.

Sarali barely suppressed a snort at this. Nevertheless, she followed the Jedi to the bar while the apprentice began to walk amongst the..._interesting_ patrons of the club.

After she and Obi-Wan got their drinks, shook her head while smiling at Obi-Wan. He in return smiled knowingly back at her. She already knew what he was doing.

This moment was broken when the humanoid next to them intruded by asking, "You wanna buy some Death Sticks?"

Obi-Wan set down his drink and waved his hand toward the humanoid while saying, "You don't want to sell us Death Sticks."

Mindlessly, the humanoid repeated, "I don't wanna sell you Death Sticks."

Calmly, Obi-Wan said, "You want to go home and rethink your life."

"I want to go home and rethink my life," the humanoid said, setting down his drink and leaving the club.

The Jedi and the humanoid remained at the bar, simply waiting, while the padawan walked through the crowd, scanning it for the assassin.

After less than half a minute, Sarali sensed something. Very quietly, she gasped, but that was enough of a warning. Obi-Wan whirled around, drawing his lightsaber in one fluid motion. The energy blade sliced through the air and into the assassin. She cried out in pain, dropping her blaster as she fell back.

The club patrons all stopped their conversations top look over in the direction of the disturbance. Obi-Wan ignored them and walked over to the assassin. He pulled her up and hauled her out of the club. Anakin lingered to look around imposingly and say, "Jedi business. Go back to your drinks."

Once outside, Obi-Wan laid down the assassin. He, Anakin, and Sarali all knelt around her and leaned toward her. Only then did the Jedi ask, "Do you know who it was you were trying to kill?"

"The Senator from Naboo," she said through her pain.

"Who hired you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"It's just a job," the assassin said evasively.

"Who hired you? Tell us," Anakin said quietly. When she did not answer, he demanded loudly, "Tell us now!"

Sarali put a hand lightly on his shoulder. Instantly, he leaned back a little, becoming more detached and calm.

"It was a bounty called-" she began. However, a whizzing noise interrupted. That sound ended abruptly at the exact same moment that she stopped speaking. "_Rishani slaymoor,"_ she said as her muscles relaxed in death.

All three remaining people quickly turned n the direction the noise had come from. They turned just in time to see a man completely encased in blue-silver body armour fly away via a rocket pack.

Silently, Obi-Wan looked at her neck. He took a small, silver dart from there and showed it to the other two. "Toxic dart."

"We should get back," Sarali said after a second.

The two looked at her before nodding.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

The Jedi Council Chamber was a wondrous room in the top of the central spire of the Jedi Temple. The room was lined by large windows an all sides save the door. Almost any way you looked, there was a magnificent view of the bustling, metropolitan city-planet of Coruscant. By day, it was a vast jungle of metal stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions; but by night the planet shone almost like a star unto itself.

It was in this room that the Jedi Council currently met with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Yoda, the both spoken and unspoken leader of said council- a short, green creature who wielded a surprising amount of power- currently spoke, instructing the team. "Track down this bounty hunter, you must, Obi-Wan."

"Most importantly, find out who he's working for," Mace Windu, a human with dark skin and an imposing figure, added.

"What about Senator Amidala? She will still need protect," Obi-Wan said. Of course, he, being the brilliant planner and tactician, thought of such details.

"Handle that, your padawan will," Yoda said simply. As he spoke, Obi-Wan turned to look at his padawan. Was he really ready for such a mission?

"Anakin, escort the Senator back to her home planet of Naboo. She'll be safer there, and don't use registered transport. Travel as refugees," Master Windu said. _Well, that means Sarali isn't coming. She won't be happy with that unless she's helping Obi-Wan._

"As the leader of the opposition, it will be very difficult to get Senator Amidala to leave the capital," Anakin pointed out. _Finally! That boy is starting to show some real sense!_

"Until caught this killer is, our judgment, she must respect," Yoda said with a tone of finality.

"Anakin, go to the Senate and ask Chancellor Palapatine to speak with her about this matter," Windu said.

And that was that. Obi-Wan and Anakin bowed before walking out of the Council Chamber. Just as Obi-Wan had with Qui-Gon, Anakin immediately shared his concerns.

"Sarali won't just sit around here, you know. She'll go with you whether you want her to or not," Anakin pointed out.

"Well, I shall just have to express to her the seriousness of the situation," Obi-Wan said confidently, almost as though she were a padawan or a youngling, not a person outside of the Order who most certainly did not have to follow his directives.

"Which she'll turn right back at you as the reason why she should come," Anakin threw back.

"You're certainly sure she'll argue," Obi-Wan observed. Since when was his padawan so observant of guarded people?

"I know my own sister well enough," Anakin said, only bristling slightly.

"She certainly seemed fond of debate," Obi-Wan said half to himself.

"Always was," Anakin returned fondly.

ooooooooooo

The Supreme Chancellor's Office was very similar to the Council Chamber in that there was, once again, a set of large windows offering a vast vista of the planetary city. However, the interior of the room was done in reds in blacks, contrasting sharply with the light feeling of the Jedi Temple. Also, this room exuded a feeling of solitude rather than the collectiveness of the Jedi Order, almost as though a select few were allowed here.

In this room, two people once again stood, though this time beside the windows rather than at the centre. This side not, of sorts, ended with a simple statement by Palpatine, "I will talk with her." Now of course when he said 'talk with her', it could more accurately be said that he would persuade her by means of power and personal acquaintance and colleagueship. "Senator Amidala will not refuse an executive order. I know her well enough to assure you of that."

"Thank you, your Excellency," Anakin said with a slight bow.

"And so, they've finally given you an assignment," Palpatine said, switching abruptly to a more personal topic, and one of great interest to both of them. "Your patience has paid off."

"Your guidance more than my patience," Anakin said humbly, for him at least.

Palpatine turned and began to walk away from the windows. Next, he said, "You don't need guidance, Anakin. In time, you will learn to trust your feelings." _And that will be easier to teach to you than to her._ "Then, you will be invincible."

Anakin followed as Palpatine continued to walk farther into the office. "I have said it many times: you are the most gifted Jedi I have ever met." _And she is the most gifted non-Jedi, of course. Perhaps it would be easier if he were to train her._

"Thank you, your Excellency," Anakin said after a second. After all, how do you respond to a comment like that?

"I see you becoming the greatest of all the Jedi, Anakin," he said, building up Anakin's ego a little more. _And only because you will join me._ "Even more powerful than Master Yoda." _The Dark Side is strong, but not strong enough until it has, no, I have you. If I had you both, my plans would be set._


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Hello, Obi-Wan. I had hoped I wouldn't be late," Sarali said, walking onto the transit bus.

"Not at all. They just left," Typho assured her, though his face made it clear he was uneasy.

"Is something wrong, Captain?" she asked, turning to face him. She tilted her head to the side and looked at him with a curious expression on her face.

"Nothing. It's just...why aren't you at the Senate?" he asked, clearly puzzled.

"Representative Binks is filling the position at present. The Senator wanted me to help in the investigation," the Cathar said with a sardonic smile.

Clearly, something else was going on, though only Obi-Wan had any inkling to what she truly meant.

"Where to?" she asked, filling the silence.

"An old friend by the name of Dex," he said vaguely. Little did she know this meant going to a less than savoury part of town. She may have grown up amongst gangs and on Tatooine, but she had been among Coruscant's blessed few for ten years. A lot had changed.

The two entered the bustling diner. Obi-Wan stepped forward and said to the droid maitre d' that they were there to see 'Dex', the same man Obi-Wan had mentioned. Upon hearing that, the droid called out to the kitchen, and presumably the cook, "Some people to see ya, Honey! Jedi and Cathar, by the looks of 'em!"

The two turned to the counter in time to see a large, four armed alien look up and smile as he exclaimed happily, "Obi-Wan!"

The Jedi next to her smiled and said fondly, "Hello, Dex."

"You and your-uh- _friend_ take a seat. I'll be right with ya," he said, appraising her for a second before implying far more than was true. _Obi-Wan is just a friend. That's all he can be...Right?..._

Sarali did not notice that she had been standing stock still until took _her hand_ and guided her to a booth. _He touched my hand...No! Don't think like this! We're friends! We can never be more!_

"You wanna cup-a Jawa Juice?" the droid asked, thankfully interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh, yes. Thank you," Obi-Wan said, sounding very distracted. _Her hand was so soft..._

"One for me as well, please," Sarali added with a small, toothless smile.

"Hey! Old Buddy!" the four-armed alien, apparently named Dex, said enthusiastically as he waddled toward them. Obi-Wan stood and hugged him before they both sat down, Obi-Wan next to her and Dex opposite them.

"So, my friend, who's this? I thought you Jedi weren't allowed to be married," Dex said, once again letting on to more.

"No, no. This is my friend, Sarali. Sarali, this is Dex," Obi-Wan said, emphatically correcting the misconception.

Sarali smiled, still toothlessly, and offered her hand to shake. Dex enthusiastically grasped her hand and shook it in greeting, completely engulfing her hand.

"So, what can I do for ya?" Dex asked

"You can tell us what this is," Obi-Wan said, holding up the toxic dart from the bounty hunter.

Dex gaped quietly at the dart and said in recognition, "Wow! Whadayaknow! I ain't seen one a these since I was prospectin' on Subterel beyond the Outer Rim."

Just then, the droid returned with their drinks. As Obi-Wan passed hers over to her, she asked Dex, "Can you tell us where it came from?"

"This baby belongs to them cloners," he said, looking between them and the dart. "What you got here is a Kamino sabre-dart."

"I wonder why it didn't show up in the analysis archives," Obi-Wan said rhetorically.

"Your archives don't hold the answer to everything. It has many gaps in the data, especially concerning matters beyond the Outer Rim," Sarali said instantly, very nearly scoffing that he had such confidence in those archives.

"How could you have ever accessed the archives? Non-Jedi are almost never allowed access," Obi-Wan said, turning to look at her inquiringly.

"Anakin helped me get information for Padme. He sent me a bit of data from the archives, and it was inaccurate. It is as simple as that," she assured the Jedi before turning back to Dex.

"I thought it was the analysis droids, myself. Those droids focus on symbols, not cuts on the side, like these," he said, showing the distinguishing marks to both of them. "I should have thought you Jedi would have more respect for the difference between knowledge and wisdom."

"Well, if droids could _think_, there'd be none of us here, would there?" Obi-Wan retorted.

"Don't let R2 hear you speak like that," Sarali said under her breath.

Obi-Wan ignored her comment and asked, "Is Kamino in the Republic?"

"Not hardly," Sarali said before Dex could answer. The alien looked at her, surprised that she had heard of it. She merely shrugged and said, "My mother did business with them once."

"It should be easy to find, about twelve parsecs outside the Rishy Maze," he said, glancing to the Cathar for confirmation. She merely nodded.

Dex leaned in and said more quietly, "These Kaminoans keep to themselves."

"They're cloners," Sarali said bluntly.

"Damn good ones, too," Dex said, nodding in appreciation.

"Cloners? Are they friendly?" Obi-Wan asked, glancing between the two.

Sarali snorted while Dex said, "Depends."

"On what?" Obi-Wan asked, prodding again.

"On how good your manners are," Dex said.

"And how much money you have," Sarali said with a full smile on her face, finally showing off her sharp teeth.

Obi-Wan spared another minute for small conversation between him and Dex. Once they had finished their juice, he insisted that they needed to be going. As soon as they were outside the diner, Obi-Wan turned to Sarali and said, "I'm sorry about Dex. He sometimes assumes things he shouldn't."

Sarali shook her head and said dismissively, "It's quite all right. Anyway, I'd rather be mistaken for that than as a corrupt politician."

Obi-Wan snorted in response. Ice broken.

Once they reached the shuttle platform, Sarali stopped Obi-Wan with a hand on his arm. "You go back to the Temple. I'll check up on Jar Jar and meet you in the hangar in about two hours," she said quickly.

"The hangar?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, of course. Aren't we going to go meet these cloners?" she asked.

"Yes, but which hangar?" he asked.

"The Jedi Temple Hangar. I am certainly not going to pay for a senatorial shuttle," she said with a sardonic smile.

Obi-Wan snorted and said, "Okay. I'll meet you there."

She disappeared in the crowd a second later.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

As they had said, the two met two hours later in the Hangar. The instant Obi-Wan saw Sarali striding toward him, he said, "We have a problem."

Sarali pursed her lips as she fell in step beside him. "What is it?" she asked after a second.

"There's no Kamino in the Jedi Archives," Obi-Wan said frankly.

"Well, isn't that just wonderful. I suppose we are going to the coordinates anyway to check," Sarali said, obviously in a bad mood.

"I'm sure it will be over quickly. Don't worry," Obi-Wan said with a smile.

"I hope you're right on this one."

"Is something wrong?"

Sarali turned to look blankly at him before saying quite bluntly, "Anakin."

Obi-Wan sighed and asked, exasperated, "What did he do this time?"

"He's infatuated with Padme," she said, obviously more than a little annoyed.

"I thought so," Obi-Wan said, resigned.

oooooooooooo

Hours later, the two arrived at Kamino. There, the two of them shed the interstellar engines and flew their fighters down to the planet. As they approached, Obi-Wan said through the com, "There it is, Sarali."

"Right where it should be," she added as they flew into a layer of thick clouds.

"It's certainly not the brightest of planets."

"Nor the driest."

The fighters came in to land on a platform attached to a city which stuck out of the ocean on huge stilts. The two quickly jumped out of the cockpits and hurried to the door to get out of the rain. As they approached the clear door and the brightly lit, white hallway beyond, the door slid open, allowing them entrance. The two quickly looked around at the apparently plain and Spartan hallway.

A very tall, slim alien with silver-blue skin and large eyes walked up to them quite peacefully and said, catching their attention, "Master Jedi. The prime minister is expecting you."

"We're expected?" Obi-Wan asked, still shivering in his partially soaked robes.

"Of course," the alien said in its gentle, very non-threatening voice. "He is anxious to meet you. After all these years, we were beginning to think you weren't coming. Now please, this way."

The Kaminoan guided the pair though the brightly lit hallways of the city to an open in room in which sat another Kaminoan. As they entered, the other stood. Their guide stood off to the side and said, "May I present Laamasu, Prime Minister of Kamino, and these are Master Jedi..."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi and Sarali Linat," Obi-Wan answered for the two of them. Sarali quickly glanced at him. She was no Jedi. He met her gaze for less than a second before looking back to Laamasu.

"I trust you're going to enjoy your stay," Laamasu said. By now, both newcomers were fairly certain that their guide was female and the Prime Minister was male. "Please," Laamasu said, gesturing to two chairs which as he spoke came down from the ceiling on his left and right. The two walked to a chair and sat.

"And now to business," Laamasu said. _Business?_ "You will be delighted to hear that we are on schedule. Two hundred thousand units are ready with a million more well on the way."

Obi-Wan and Sarali glanced at each other. It was clear that neither of them knew of what he spoke. "That is good news," Sarali said smoothly, sounding very comfortable. Apparently, she was a good liar.

"Please tell your Master Sifodias that his order will be met on time."

"I'm sorry, Master...?" Obi-Wan broke in.

"Jedi Master Sifodias is still a leading member of the Jedi Council, is he not?" Laamasu asked, glancing between them.

"Master Sifodias was killed almost ten years ago," Obi-Wan said. Sarali's head quickly tipped to the side as she glanced between the two. Something was wrong here.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, but I'm sure he would have been proud of the army we've built for him," Laamasu said calmly.

Obi-Wan and Sarali looked straight at Laamasu, she with wide eyes and he trying to hide his surprise. _Someone ordered an army under the name of a Jedi Master?_

"The army?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, a clone army, and I must say one of the finest we've ever created," Laamasu said proudly. _They clone armies for people to go to war?_

"Tell me, Prime Minister, when my master first contacted you about the army, did he say who it was for?" Obi-Wan asked, probing for answers.

"Of course, he did. This army is for the Republic."_Someone must have planned this...planned for a war. We're dealing with a very shrewd opponent._ "But you must be anxious to inspect the units for yourself."

"That's why we're here," Sarali said with a smile, pulling out her calm facade again.

Laamasu rose from his chair and guided them out to the hallways. Obi-Wan and Sarali fell in step beside each other, sharing a glance of intrigue and concern as they followed the Kaminoan.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Four individuals walked down the glass and durasteel walkways that provided an unparalleled view of the clone production, or growth rather. Millions of embryos were suspended in single-baby capacity giant test tubes filled with clear gel-like liquid. These were all lighted to show the stages of development in which each group of hundreds of clones was.

Obi-Wan and Sarali now led the way down the walkway so they could maintain an unobstructed view of this altogether shocking cavernous room. "Very impressive," Obi-Wan managed to say whilst Sarali struggled to keep the astonishment from her physiognomy.

"I'd hoped you would be pleased," the prime minister responded. He allowed them a few more seconds to take in the sight before them before he said, "Clones can think creatively. You will find that they are immensely superior to droids. We take great pride in our combat education and training programs." As they came to a stop at the window to another room, Laamasu gestured to the window. This one had clone children all sitting at computer terminals. "This group was created about five years ago."

"You mentioned growth acceleration, did you not?" Sarali asked, finally finding her voice.

"Oh, yes. It is essential. Otherwise a mature clone would take a lifetime to grow. Now we can do it in half the time," Laamasu described as they continued to the next room.

"I see," Obi-Wan said.

"They are totally obedient, taking any order without question. We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent than the original host," Laamasu said as they looked at a mess hall of around five hundred clones eating.

"Who was the original host?" Sarali asked, turning back to look at him inquisitively.

"A bounty hunter called Jango Fett."

Sarali and Obi-Wan glanced at each other. She nodded imperceptibly to all save him, which prompted him to ask, "Where is this bounty hunter now?"

"Oh, we keep him here." _Keep? He isn't an animal._ "Apart from his pay, which is considerable, Fett demanded only one thing: an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn't it?"

"Unaltered?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Pure genetic replication. No tampering with the structure to make it more docile and no growth acceleration," Laamasu explained.

"We should very much like to meet this Jango Fett," Sarali said as they walked past block upon block of clones training.

"I would be very happy to arrange it for you," the other Kaminoan said graciously.

ooooooooooo

The Kaminoan led Obi-wan and Sarali to a residential part of the city, or at least that is what they assumed because it was a closed hallways with evenly spaced doors, much like an apartment complex. She stopped at one door and touched the call button. Seconds later, it opened to show a young boy of perhaps eight years very similar to the clones.

"Bobba, is your father here?" the Kaminoan asked.

"Yep," the boy said, glancing to Obi-Wan nervously. _He is at least nervous about Obi-Wan's knighthood. Perhaps some illegal endeavours he and his 'father' wish to hide?_

"May we see him?" the alien asked.

"Sure," Bobba said, slowly turning to lead them inside. As he did, he glanced over Sarali, taking in her slender, short form, tail, ears, fur, claws, and odd physiognomy. "Dad, Tan We's here!"

The three stopped and turned once they reached a small, circular entry room. Walking toward them was a man in a blue tunic and black pants. He was of average height. Muscles showed along his arms where he was in the process of rolling up his sleeves. His face was good-looking, for a human, and his hair was black. The most notable part of his appearance, for Sarali, was the fact that he seemed to be of the correct size and proportions to be the bounty hunter. Now, undoubtedly there were many others of the same size and shape, but he could be suspected legitimately.

Sarali could tell from his demeanour that he thought of their presence as an intrusion. He wanted them gone as quickly as possible. He seemed particularly leery of Obi-Wan's presence, which was understandable considering his Jedi robes.

Obi-Wan's examination was a bit less detailed than hers. He noted that the man's eyes quickly swept over Tan We and himself before coming to rest on Sarali. His gaze swept over her, taking in her form easily thanks to the very fitted clothes she wore. Emotions flickered across his face, especially when he took in her tail and facial features. However, they were too fast for Obi-Wan to clearly decipher.

Quite suddenly, he felt uncomfortable having this man study Sarali so. Nearly as quickly as it had come, the feeling was gone, replaced by the so-called Jedi calm. What was that?

"Jango. Welcome back. Was your trip productive?" Tan We said in her, or at least they all assumed it was a female, disturbingly serene voice.

"Fairly," the man answered in a strong baritone. His eyes flicked between the two newcomers, though they more often strayed to Sarali. She was, after all, an oddity; but that was not the only reason.

"These are Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Sarali Linat. They've come to check on our progress," she introduced. Jango did not miss the glance the two shared as the second, the woman's, name was spoken.

"You're clones are very impressive. You must be very proud," Sarali commented whilst Obi-Wan studied the other man closely.

"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe," Jango said, though his facade was none too convincing. They had both met his like previously.

"Ever made your way as far into the interior as Coruscant?" Obi-Wan asked, seemingly nonchalant.

"Once or twice," Jango answered with a small shrug.

"Recently?" Obi-Wan asked with a bit more force than intended.

"Possibly," the other answered, still maintaining his stoic, 'simple man' mask.

"Then you must know Master Sifodias," Sarali said conversationally, adding a small, closed-mouth smile for good measure.

What happened next was singularly odd. Jango paused, studying them closely for a second. Then, he walked around them so his back was to the window. As he did, he said something in another language, though which one it was neither of them knew. The child walked past them to a door just off from the main room. He closed it quickly, but not before the two got a good glimpse of blue and silver armour. It was him.

"Master who?" Jango asked, looking Sarali directly in the eye. She met his eyes with a penetrating gaze of her own, made especially disconcerting by the type and colour of her eyes.

"Sifodias. Is he not the Jedi who hired you for this job?" Obi-Wan continued, drawing the man's attention away from his companion. _My companion..._

Jango took a couple steps toward Obi-Wan and tilted his head menacingly. He answered with more roughness in his voice, "Never heard of him."

"Really?" Obi-Wan asked, most certainly not believing the other.

"I was recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogda."

"Curious," Obi-Wan said. Something was different about his voice. It was obvious that he did not believe a word this man said, but there was something else different.

The two stared each other down for a few seconds before Jango asked, "Do you like your army?"

Obi-Wan nodded minutely. "I look forward to seeing them in action."

"They'll do their job well. I'll guarantee that."

"Thank you for your time, Jango," Sarali interjected quite suddenly, ending the staring match.

The two bowed as Jango said, "Always a pleasure to meet some Jedi," looking at Sarali as he spoke.

Sarali turned and walked out, not dignifying his interest with a response. Obi-Wan quickly followed her out, hiding her from the bounty hunter's gaze.


	22. Chapter 22

_I apologize in advance. I am terrible at writing fight scenes. It takes me such a long time, and they seem to turn out so horribly. Here it is: my I-don't-know-how-many-th try at this scene._

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Obi-Wan and Sarali ran out the doors of the city to the platform from which the bounty hunter and his young clone were to depart. Even by then, they had already been spotted by the younger of the two. Obi-Wan quickly drew his lightsaber as Jango took out his blaster. Sarali did not bother drawing her own blaster; Fett wore blast-damping armour so it would be useless. Instead, she took off at a dead sprint. Just as she passed out of the protection of Obi-Wan's reach with his lightsaber, she jumped high into the air, landing near Fett.

Sarali struck blow after blow at the bounty hunter. Her knives glinted in the dim light as she tried again and again to penetrate his defences. Finally, Fett activated his jetpack and pushed her away from him as he rose up into the air. Sarali flipped over and landed on her feet, soaked but ready to fight.

Both she and Obi-Wan watched carefully as Fett flew out of sight behind a pillar. They quickly turned to the ship as it turned. However, Fett fired a flame throwing attachment of his suit to create an explosion between the two, knocking them apart. They both dropped their respective weapons on the hard landing, but they each hurried to their feet as the ship opened fire at them.

Sarali looked up in time to see Fett hurtling toward her partner. "Obi-Wan!" she yelled in warning. He had just enough time to look up and jump into a force-aided kick that sent the bounty hunter reeling. In that time, both Sarali and Obi-Wan began to attack him in hand-to-hand combat, for they had all lost their preferred weapons.

Due to her lesser weight, Sarali was more susceptible to kicks. Fett took full advantage of this by kicking her clear across the platform. She landed in heap and only just picked herself up in time to be knocked over the edge by what felt like a body. She slid down the tilted surface of the roof, feeling someone holding her arm tightly. They both jerked to a stop hanging in mid-air from a cable.

Only now could Sarali look up to see that it was Obi-Wan who held her. She looked up only to see Fett clinging to the metal of the roof by some very peculiar looking knife-like projections from his suit. She looked below her to the vast waters...and the platform not too far below...

"Obi-Wan, let go of me," Sarali said, looking back up to meet his eyes.

"Wha- No. I won't."

"No, Obi-Wan. There's a platform down there," she explained quickly.

"Are you sure?" he asked seriously.

"Yes."

Obi-Wan's arm released the clamp-like grip on hers, allowing her to plummet a good fifty feet before landing on a metal platform. She looked back up to see Obi-Wan swinging over to her. A second later, he landed beside her. They nodded to each other and took off sprinting along the platform to a door. They had to get back to Fett's ship.

They reached it just as it was taking off. Obi-Wan quickly took a small device from his utility belt and threw it at the ship.

As the ship took off, Sarali looked questioningly at him.

"Homing device," he explained, catching his breath.

"Come on. We need to follow them," she said.

He gave her an odd look as they began to walk. "How can you have so much energy?" he asked.

Sarali smiled a closed-lip smile and suggested as a joke, "Maybe you're just getting old."

"I'm only three years older than you, though."

She snorted and responded playfully, "Yes, but I'm not entirely human, now am I?"

"You don't age that differently," he responded with a shake of his head.

"Yes, but I age more gracefully than you unfortunate full humans. Look at your beard, after all." It was clear she meant none of this, but he continued with the charade.

"There's nothing wrong with my beard."

"If you're a sheep."

"Now I'm a sheep?"

"Or a wookie," Sarali replied with a shrug.

The two stared at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.

"It's good to know-" she began, mimicking Qui-Gon's voice.

"You have a sense-" Obi-Wan continued.

"-Of humour-"

"-My young apprentice," Sarali finished.

"Only a dry one," Obi-Wan said. Now he was the one shrugging.

"As opposed to a wet one?" she asked as they reached their ships.

"No. A soaked one."

"Besotted, if it's Anakin," Sarali commented with distaste in her voice.

"Yes," Obi-Wan finished bluntly.

"Lovely," she said sarcastically as they each turned on their fighters and took off, climbing and climbing back into space.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Two Jedi fighters followed the bounty-hunter ship Slave I. Quite suddenly, the pursued ship ejected a small device. Sarali's instruments detected it first. Almost instantly, she recognized it and warned Obi-Wan. "Seismic charges! He's detected us!"

The two ships began to manoeuvre away from the device, just in time for it to explode in blue light. The energy blasted outward, destroying the asteroids that met its path. The two ships were lucky. They made it out unscathed. However, another device had been released. They were just barely in time to avoid its blast.

Obi-Wan and Sarali turned their attention back to the ship they were following. Quickly they followed it as it wove in and out amongst the asteroids. After a few minutes of rather fancy flying, Slave I opened fire on the two Jedi fighters.

Almost immediately, Sarali's fighter took a direct hit. Obi-Wan barely had time to see her fighter explode in a shower of parts before he had to keep flying, attempting to save himself from the same fighter. His heart felt suddenly empty, as though a Void had been placed inside it which nothing could fill, except something did fill it: sadness. She was gone.

As he attempted to hold himself together, a thought stayed in the back of his mind. He had not felt her death through the Force. Something was not as it seemed...

"Obi-Wan, jettison your spare parts canister!" he heard Sarali's voice over the comm.

She was alive! Relief stronger than any he had ever felt flooded through him, that is, until he registered what she had said.

For the second time within a very short amount of time, he thought she was dead. He wasn't sure if he could take this fear that she would be killed for much longer. In his heart, he was pleading that if she survived, she stayed on Coruscant where it was safer.

"R4, prepare to jettison the spare parts canister," Obi-Wan instructed. The droid whistled and beeped in return.

Seconds later, the parts canister exploded amidst the fire of the bounty-hunter's ship. Obi-Wan took that opportunity to land on an asteroid and shut down all but essential power.

Slave I remained for a few seconds more before continuing its journey. Only then did the Jedi fighters follow it to the planet looming ahead.

"Geonosis," Obi-Wan said over the comm. As they approached the planet's surface.

"Federation ships," Sarali said.

"A lot of them," Obi-Wan commented, looking over at the same area as she.

"We'll land over by that rock formation. It's more isolated," Sarali said. It was obvious which she meant.

Only minutes later, the two jumped out of their ships and approached each other. "That was a good idea," Obi-Wan commented, referring to the spare parts canister. On the inside, he was thinking something very different. _I thought you were dead...Why did you not warn me?_

"Thank you. Anyway, we had best sleep at least until dawn. Not much is likely to happen until then," she commented.

Obi-Wan nodded.

"Do you have a cloak or a blanket?" he asked.

Sarali merely shook her head.

Obi-Wan gestured for her to come closer as they sat between their ships. He quickly noticed her hesitation and said, "I won't bite."

Sarali snorted and said, "Shouldn't _you_ be more worried about _me_ biting?"

"Not unless you bite in your sleep," Obi-Wan said with a joking smile.

"Only a little," Sarali said sarcastically as she settled in under his cloak. They said nothing more as their proximity made them both particularly aware of the other.

Within a minute, Sarali was asleep. Obi-Wan took somewhat longer to fall asleep, mostly due to his reflecting on his experiences that day. He had after all thought that she was dead _twice_. That was forcing some inappropriate feelings to develop. For instance, he could not help but notice her beauty. Her feline features fit her personality so perfectly that he could not fathom why he had not noticed sooner. She was intelligent, and she was clever. They worked so well together.

He did not, could not, love her, yet an attachment was certainly forming, which was against the Jedi Code. But were not only selfish attachments banned? He certainly wanted her to be happy, but did he not wish that for everyone? What made her so different?

He liked her, but he liked many people...

Why did he care so much about her?

With these thoughts in his head, Obi-Wan fell into a deep, restful slumber.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

In the pre-dawn hours of the following morning, Obi-Wan woke feeling something warm pressing into his chest. Then, he noticed that his arm was around that something warm. A second later, he opened his eyes to see Sarali curled up into a tight ball beside him. His arm was draped over her waist. Her tail was wound around her body and just barely peeked out from under his cloak, which was somehow still over the both of them.

She was so beautiful. Now that she slept, her face was finally free of the lines of worry and sorrow which had marred her smooth face. She looked the same as she had back on Tatooine, almost disturbingly so. It hardly looked as if a day had gone by, yet she had changed so much. Gone was the young woman just trying to protect herself from further anguish. In her place was a woman with fierce loyalties and more wisdom than he would ever expect for her age.

Quite suddenly, she stirred. Her tail flicked and her ears perked up. She was awake.

"Sarali?"

"Hmmm?" she asked, sounding as if she would have liked very much if she could go back to sleep.

"We should be going."

"Where?"

Without a word, he pointed to the large rock formation relatively near them.

"They hollowed it, didn't they?" Sarali said, turning back toward him with a wry grin.

He nodded before leading toward the natural building.

ooooooooooo

Half an hour later, Obi-wan and Sarali walked through the narrow hallways of the building. Both were nearly silent as they moved through the enemy area. Quite suddenly, there was a large opening in the wall. They both carefully looked around the pillar only to see a gigantic droid factory.

Obi-Wan began to walk again, silently grasping Sarali's hand to pull her along rather than stare in fascination. She looked at his face silently for less than a second before matching his pace to continue through the eerily quiet structure.

They hurried down a flight of stairs but were forced to dart behind a pillar as they heard voices approaching.

"We must persuade the Commerce Guild and the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty," a deep voice worthy of an orator said. Obi-Wan instantly recognized it and mouthed to the confused looking Sarali, 'Dooku.'

"What about the Senator from Naboo? Is she dead yet? I'm not signing your treaty until I have her head on my desk," a second voice, this one with a very odd accent, said. To this, Obi-Wan mouthed to her, 'Nute Gunray.'

"I am a man of my word, Viceroy," the first man, Dooku, said.

"With these new battle droids, we will have the finest army in the galaxy," a very robotic voice said. It was obvious from their faces that neither knew exactly who that was.

Obi-Wan and Sarali silently followed the group to a sort of meeting room. They snuck up to a level above and peered down at the group as they sat at a round, partially lit table and continued their odd cross between a discussion and a negotiation.

"As I explained to you earlier, I am quite convinced that ten thousand more systems will rally to our cause with your support, Gentlemen," Dooku said smoothly.

A small alien with a lot of gold ornamentation and a very long neck responded in a rather strange language.

"The Techno-Union army," a being encased in metal began to say before his translator began making odd sounds. With a bit of fiddling with some dials on his chest, he began to speak again, "Is at your disposal, Count."

"The Banking Clan will sign your treaty," a very tall and slender being with an elongated head said.

"Good, very good. Our friends from the Trade Federation have pledged their support, and when their battle droids are combined with yours, we shall have an army greater than any in the galaxy. The Jedi will be overwhelmed. The Republic will agree to any demands we make," Count Dooku said.

Obi-Wan and Sarali listened in for only a little longer. When they had heard enough, Obi-Wan took her hand so they would not be separated in the darkness before they both snuck out of the structure and back to their ships.

ooooooooooooooo

As soon as they were free to talk again, Obi-Wan said, "I'll have to contact the Jedi Council."

Sarali nodded her head and said, "I would expect as much with this discovery."

The soon reached the ships, at which point Obi-Wan instantly began to fiddle with the transmitter whilst Sarali simply laid herself out in the sun.

"The transmitter is working, but we're not receiving a return signal," Obi-Wan said more to himself than anything.

"Coruscant is too far for these transmitters," Sarali said, instantly recognizing the problem after years working with electronics. She did not even open her eyes to answer.

"R4, can you boost the power?" Obi-Wan asked.

The droid responded with a flurry of beeps and whistles.

"We'll have to try something else," Obi-Wan said, already thinking of alternatives.

"Anakin," Sarali said simply, almost as though it was obvious.

Obi-Wan looked over at her speculatively. When he did not speak, she said, "Naboo is much closer, that is unless he's wandered off as he is apt to do."

"That's a cheery thought," Obi-Wan replied sarcastically.

"Anakin? Anakin, do you copy? This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin? He's not on Naboo, R4...I'm going to try to widen the range,"

"Knowing Anakin they are either on Alderaan or Tatooine, depending on which on suggested an alternative," Sarali commented.

"I do hope nothing's happened to him," Obi-Wan said worriedly.

"It most likely already has. I am more concerned about how deep the trouble is," Sarali returned.

"That's Anakin's tracking signal, but it's coming from Tatooine," Obi-Wan said, confused.

"Thought so," Sarali interjected.

"What in the blazes is he doing there?"

_Visiting family, hiding from the Separatists, who knows with him_, Sarali thought.

"I told him to stay on Naboo," Obi-Wan continued.

"Does he actually listen to you?" Sarali asked.

"Good point," he conceded.

Obi-Wan activated the transmitter again before saying, "Anakin? Anakin, do you copy? This is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

ooooooooooo

On the far off world of Coruscant, the Jedi Council and a few senators watched Obi-Wan's message in the Supreme Chancellor's office.

"I have tracked the bounty hunter Jango Fett to the droid foundries on Geonosis. The Trade federation is to take delivery of a droid army here, and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is responsible for the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala. The Commerce Guild and the Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming a-"

"Obi-Wan! Droidekas!" Sarali's higher voice said sharply.

They watched as obi-Wan began to fight them off. For a second, they saw the flash of a small, lithe figure flip through the picture before a droideka appeared, attacking Obi-Wan.

"Who was that?" Mace Windu asked.

"Senator Amidala's aide, Sarali Linat. She accompanied master Kenobi to assist in the investigation," Senator Bail Organa said simply.

"Why were we not informed of this?"

"Wesa thought yousa knew," Jar Jar said, looking guilty.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Sarali woke with a splitting headache. The second thing to register in her mind was cold, bone-chilling cold. Her bodysuit hardly helped to keep her warm.

Sarali opened her eyes, quickly becoming accustomed to the dim lighting. She was in a small, empty room of stone flooring, stone walls, and a stone ceiling. The door was made of durasteel. Unless she could get the hinges out, she could not escape.

Strangely enough, there was a little black bundle on the floor. She reached out and pulled it over to her. It was clothing. At the top was a black satin slip. Underneath was a black leather jacket that looked quite inviting considering the cold of the room. There was also a pair of black leggings and something purple which after a small struggle turned out to be a dress, and a short one at that. Why were there clothes here?

Upon introspection, she found a thin blanket covering her. It did very little in terms of warmth, hense the prior lack of notice. Her tunic was burnt and ripped in several places, though thankfully the blanket was covering her. So they had provided clothes? Well, that was nice, almost too nice...

ooooooooooooooo

When Count Dooku walked into Obi-Wan's holding cell, he was met with a single word. "Traitor."

"Oh, no, my friend. This is a mistake, a terrible mistake. They have gone too far. This is madness," he said, hardly even sounding sincere.

"I thought you were the leader here, Dooku," Obi-Wan said pointedly and very coldly.

"This had nothing to do with me. I assure you," Dooku said, beginning to pace around Obi-Wan. "I will petition immediately to have you set free."

"Well, I hope it doesn't take too long. I have work to do," Obi-Wan said calmly, though it was obvious he did not believe the Count.

"May I ask why a Jedi Knight is all the way out here on Geonosis, and with a half-human Senator's aide?"

"I've been tracking a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Do you know him?" Obi-Wan said, responding to the first before he realized that the Count had spoken of Sarali.

"There are no bounty hunters here that I am aware of. The Geonosians don't trust them," Dooku said. The second part actually sounded truthful.

"Well, who can blame them? But he is here. I assure you."

"It's a great pity that our paths have never crossed before, Obi-Wan," Dooku said evenly, though there was something in his voice hinting at true emotion. "Qui-Gon always spoke very highly of you...I wish he were still alive. I could use his help right now."

"Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you," Obi-Wan said. Obviously, Dooku had hit a nerve.

"Don't be so sure, my young Jedi. You forget that he was once my apprentice just as you were once his. He knew all about the corruption in the Senate, but he would never have gone along with it if he had known the truth as I have."

"The truth?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"The truth...What if I told you that the Republic was now under the control of the Dark Lord of the Sith?"

"No. That's not possible. The Jedi would be aware of it."

"The dark side of the Force has clouded their vision, my friend. Hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious."

"I don't believe you," Obi-Wan chorused.

"The Trade Federation was once in league with this Darth Sidious. They were betrayed. The Viceroy came to me for help. Join me, Obi-Wan, and we can destroy the Sith."

"No. I will never join you, Dooku."

"That's odd. Your pretty little friend Sarali said you'd join right away when you heard what evil was controlling the galaxy."

"What have you done with her?" Obi-Wan demanded instantly.

"Oh, nothing much. She is warming up to me quite nicely," Dooku said with a disturbing smile.

"Stay away from her!"

"I am a man, and she is a beautiful...half-Cathar. Even you cannot have been immune to her charms..."

Unintentionally, Obi-Wan blushed. "Ah, so you've noticed. You seem quite taken by her. Contemplating leaving the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan? Or perhaps you've forgotten your Jedi Code. _There is no emotion, there is peace_...Anyway, I think it will be rather difficult to secure your release."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Obi-Wan floated impatiently in his cell. He had tested the beams that held him only to find them completely unbreakable. He would have to wait for the opportune moment to escape.

Unless, of course, Sarali were to escape and find him.

Where was she?

Almost in answer to his unspoken question, he felt the presence of a mind.

"_Obi-Wan?"_ Sarali's voice asked in his head.

"_Sarali?"_

_ "Where are you?"_

_ "In a cell. And you?"_

_ "The same, unfortunately."_

_ "Dooku was here-"_

_ "And here,"_ she added.

"_He asked me to join him-"_

_ "Yep."_

_ "And said there is a Sith lord controlling the Senate."_

_ "What?"_

_ "I don't know if I should believe him or not."_

_ "I wouldn't."_

_ "I do not think he would say such a thing unless it was true."_

_ "You know him better than I."_

_ "So he was in your cell as well?"_

_ "Yes. He seemed sincere, but there was something off about him."_

_ "That would be the Dark Side. It isn't surprising that you can sense that, considering your Midichlorian count."_

_ "By the way, how are we communicating?"_

_ "Through our minds. Apparently, we have formed some type of bond. It doesn't feel like a master-padawan bond, and I have no experience with any other type."_

_ "How could it have formed?"_

_ "I would say the amount of time we have spent together, but that lone is not enough. Perhaps it is the will of the Force."_

In the midst of this conversation, the door to Sarali's cell slid open.

"_He's here,_" she thought hurriedly before turning her attention to the man standing on the threshold._  
_

Count Dooku himself walked in. "Ah! You're awake!" he said cheerfully.

"Where is Obi-Wan?" she asked instantly.

"He is quite safe. Unfortunately, the Geonosians don't take kindly to intruders to their planet," he said. His voice was deep and pleasant. She imagined he could have done quite well in life as an actor or politician. He sounded so likeable and trustworthy, which was exactly why she did not trust him.

"Then why are you here?" Sarali snapped.

"I was fortunate enough to meet their ambassador. He invited me-"

"And the Trade Federation along with you?" she interrupted.

"No. The Trade Federation has long been an ally of Geonosis."

"And allies keep lots of ships on the other's world?"

"I will be frank with you, my dear," Dooku began, changing demeanours entirely. "Geonosis has joined the Separatists-"

"Just like you," she snapped.

"Only to mediate, to keep them under control," he assured her gently.

Sarali snorted.

"My dear, if you trust me, I can get you out of here. The Separatists trust me. I can negotiate your release," he said reasonably, sitting beside her.

"What's the catch?" she asked, scooting away from him.

Dooku sighed and said, "You would have to join them."

"Never," she snarled.

"Then, I cannot guarantee your release, my dear," he said with regret colouring his tone.

"Don't call me that!" Sarali snapped angrily, baring her teeth to him.

"Why not? It is quite appropriate for you," he said, sounding like the voice of reason.

"No. It is not. I am a prisoner. You are my jailor. I am not beautiful, and I do not like you. It is _not_ appropriate," she hissed, her yellow eyes blazing and her tail swishing.

"But you are beautiful," he said, tilting his head in genuine confusion.

"Stop it! Get out!" she hissed, her back arching in anger. A quick glance revealed that her claws were out. He left quite quickly after that.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Much later, though she hoped it to be the same day, Sarali was being led through the stone corridors on a strong chain by two Geonosians. Four more surrounded them; each held a menacing electro-spear. The tiny feline attempted to retain what dignity she could as she was chained to a large cart. In the distance, she could hear the sound of a great many people cheering. This sound chilled her bones because these Geonosians seemed to be quite a war-like lot. It would fit that they would enjoy blood-thirsty spectacles, which she suspected was to be her. At this point, a great dread filled her, from which she was only distracted by the approaching sound of footsteps.

Many minutes seemed to pass before she could see the approaching people. Towering over a group of Geonosians was Obi-Wan, a very welcome sight that instantly comforted and worried her. She smiled at him, though it was strained and worried. He answered more serenely, though he, too, appeared to be suspicious. He was loading onto the cart beside her and chained opposite her. No sooner had the Geonosians finished this task, before they all left, leaving the two alone.

Only seconds later, Obi-Wan asked bluntly, gesturing at her black coat and purple dress, "What are you wearing?"

"It was in my cell when I woke up, and if you'll remember, my own clothing was somewhat ripped."

"What?" he asked, clearly confused.

"The droids singed my leggings as we were being fired at, and in dragging me here, the back of my shirt was ripped nearly ragged."

"So they just happened to have a dress, a coat, _and_ leggings that fit you?"

"No. I believe someone has been planning this for some time, though how they knew I would come I doubt I'll ever know."

"But who would engineer something like this?"

"The Sith," Sarali said bluntly.

"How do you know about them?" Obi-Wan asked cautiously.

"You Jedi are not the only ones who can sense the darkness in the near future."

"Your force sensitivity?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Trust your feelings. Trust in the Force," he urged, bending down as far as he was able to kiss her forehead.

The two lapsed into companionable silence until Sarali asked "Obi-Wan? Do you know what is happening?"

"The Geonosians have a history of public execution," he said hesitantly, looking into her eyes very seriously.

She only nodded gravely in response.

After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and said sadly, "I'm sorry, Sarali. I should not have gotten you into this."

"What are you talking about?"

"I should not have let you come with me. You could have been safe on Coruscant now."

"There is nothing to be sorry for. If you had left without me, I would have followed you, if only to keep Padme safe."

He smiled sadly and said, "Thank you. It is a great comfort to me that you do not blame me."

"I could never blame you for this, Obi-Wan."

"Sarali, I feel as if we could not be closer were we brother and sister."

"Ah, but we would not know each other, then," she said before jumping up to kiss his cheek.

As she drew back, the odd pair looked each other in the eyes. Neither of them could deny the longing in their heart for the other, though neither of them would voice this for fear of ruining their ever so precious friendship. They each valued the other's company too highly to risk losing it through an admission of if not love then at least fond attachment far more than friendship.

Sarali sig sighed and laid her head down on Obi-Wan's chest. Putting all thoughts of the Code aside, he rested his head on top of hers. He hadn't noticed how delicate her ears were until now with his face nestled in her hair. She hadn't noticed how spicy and musky he smelt. She huddled closer to him, taking his aroma in.

The couple was pulled from their respective musings by a lurch of the cart.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

After hours of waiting in the hot Geonosian sun, another cart rolled out to the giant, stone columns. Sarali's ears perked up at the sound. Her eyes flicked over to watch Anakin and Padme be chained near them to die.

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd got my message," Obi-Wan commented to Anakin.

"I retransmitted it just as you requested, Master," Anakin said dejectedly without looking up at him.

"I suppose you came to rescue us," Sarali commented as her eyebrows shot up to emphasize just how poor of a job they were doing with that.

"Actually, yes," Anakin commented, drawing himself up to his full height to tilt his head down at Sarali.

"Good job," Obi-Wan commented sarcastically, glancing up at the chains holding him to the overgrown pole.

"Just what I would expect from the two most impulsive people I know," Sarali returned with obviously false cheerfulness.

"Any ideas on getting out of here?" Obi-Wan asked turning to regard her with inquisitive eyes.

Sarali glanced up the pillar, noticing the deep, decorative grooves in its worn surface. "I have one."

Just then, a portcullis blocking a tunnel on the opposite side of the arena lifted, allowing four nasty beasts from various planets to saunter, stumble, lumber, and hop their way into the arena. Clearly, these were the beasts intended to kill them.

The first beast was a reek from a Codian moon. Normally, it was a peaceful, herbivorous creature, but the Geonosians had starved it to the point that it would take any food it could get, even humans.

Second of the creatures to emerge was a spider-like acklay from Vendaxa. Its pincer legs were dangerous when combined with its hard exoskeleton.

The third animal to be herded into the arena was the feline nexu from Cholganna. Sarali hoped that this particular beast would go for her as she was the only one of her fellows that could evade its swift, deadly claws.

The last creature was a strange, though giant, creature: a rancor from Dathomir. It had two club feet and two hands with huge, sharp talons, which it used to propel itself forward.

As the creatures spread out and chose their targets, Sarali grasped the grooves in the pillar and propelled herself up to perch lightly on the top. The nexu, which had taken an interest in her and gone straight to her, clawed at the pillar for a few seconds before seeming to catch her scent. It dropped to the ground and sniffed around the pillar before letting out a whimper and curling up at the base of the pillar.

Apparently, the Geonosians did not like this as one of the guards on an ugly orray, its mount, hurried over to zap the nexu with its static pike. The nexu jumped up and swiped the Geonosian from its perch atop the orray and ate it on the spot before returning to its place beside the pole.

Cautiously, Sarali dropped back down to the ground beside the nexu. The nexu's quills perked up at the vibrations from her landing. The nexu looked up, saw her, and jumped to place its front claws just above her shoulders on the pillar to support it. It then surprised her by licking her cheek and nuzzling into her hair. At this point, her instincts kicked in. She responded to the care of this semi-feline being and nuzzled it back.

However, an idea struck Sarali. She stopped moving, which clearly saddened the nexu as it let out a questioning yowl. She peered up at her chains pointedly. Apparently, it got the message because it swiped at her chains, breaking them easily and allowing Sarali to move about with relative freedom. Sarali smiled her toothy grin and scratched the top of the nexu's head behind its eyes.

Now that she had made a new friend, Sarali looked around at her fellow prisoners. Anakin had somehow managed to get the reek to jerk his chains from their mooring on his pillar and was now riding it along with Padme. The rancor lay wounded beside a pole, and Obi-Wan had wounded the acklay with one of the Geonosian guards' electric pikes. He quickly ran to mount the reek behind the pair.

Sarali quickly ran to them; unsurprisingly, the nexu followed faithfully, though it did look questioningly at her when she did not attack them.

"New friend?" Obi-Wan asked as he saw her join them.

"Yep," Sarali said with a smile, patting the nexu.

Before Obi-Wan could say anything more, destroyer droids rolled out to surround them.

"Now what?" Sarali asked nervously, edging closer to the nexu.

"I have no idea," Obi-Wan answered honestly.

Before they could all be blasted into cinders by the rolling menace often called droids, hundreds of coloured lights sprung up all around the arena. They all quickly recognized them for what they were: lightsabre blades. In light of this, the Geonosians fled.

Unfortunately, Count Dooku had more up his sleeve than merely destroyer droids. An army of battle droids flooded the arena floor, but so did the Jedi. From there, there was only chaos.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Before she knew it, her nexu friend was dead and she was destroying droids with the lightsabre of a fallen Jedi, displaying more natural talent than was entirely common perhaps from her training with long knives.

Sarali was surprised by the amount of resources poured into this rescue operation when the next set of reinforcements arrived. Ships Sarali recognized from Kamino flew into the arena and landed, spewing out clones armed to the teeth. She sprinted toward one of the ships only to find Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme already on board. Obi-Wan easily noticed her from amongst the chaos and offered her a hand, pulling her up onto the ship. He held her gaze for a couple seconds with relief clear in his eyes before he turned to the pilot and nodded, presumably for them to take off. As a couple clones hopped on board, Obi-Wan gestured to the lightsabre she held and asked, "Where did you get that?"

"One of your fallen friends...I had no other weapon, and the droid blasters are built into them," she explained, attempting to grasp the overhead ring as she did.

The Jedi sighed and said in acceptance, "Keep it, for now." As he spoke, he grasped the overhead handle with one hand and held onto her waist with the other. She nodded and wrapped her arms around him, feeling very much like a child holding onto a parent.

Their ship went with the rest to attack Dooku's base of operations for droid production. They quickly toppled two towers stopping a Trade Federation star ship from taking off. Just as they ran out of ammunition, they spotted a speeder leaving the area.

"It's Dooku! Shoot him down!" Anakin commanded.

"We're out of rockets, Sir," the pilot replied.

"Follow him!" Anakin demanded.

"We're gonna need some help!" Padme protested.

"There isn't time!" Obi-Wan responded. "Anakin and I can handle this."

Sarali glanced up at him sharply. He only shook his head and pulled her closer. They did not know how good of an idea that was. Dooku's drones doubled back behind them and started shooting at them. When they found their target, the ship jolted, sending both Padme and a clone to the sands below. Sarali would have fallen if Obi-Wan had not pulled her closer.

"Padme!" Anakin called. "Put the ship down!"

"Anakin! Don't let your personal feelings get in the way!" Obi-Wan reminded him.

Anakin looked down at Sarali, who still clutched Obi-Wan for lack of any good handle she could reach. He raised his eyebrows pointedly, but Obi-Wan shook his head dismissively and commanded the pilot, "Follow that speeder!"

"Lower the ship!" Anakin protested.

"I can't take Dooku alone! I need you! If we catch him, we can end this war right now! We have a job to do!"

"I don't care! Put the ship down!"

"Anakin, think what Padme would do in your position," Sarali reminded him.

Anakin sighed in anger and said, "She would do her duty."

As the ship swooped in to drop them off where Dooku had stopped, Obi-Wan looked down at Sarali and said, "Do not fight unless you must. He has some plan for you. Hide."

She nodded before turning to look at the door. Obi-Wan released her just before the trio jumped from the ship to the platform and ran into the hangar. They were lucky. The ship was destroyed seconds later by Dooku's drones.


End file.
